The Time Travel Paradox

Chuck Hansen went over the equations he’d been working on for years in a variety of forms. Finally, he thought he had everything ready. All the files transferred from his files at the Shed. The Hong Kong Dome was half empty at this point. Setting up shop in one of the labs was easy enough. There were labs that weren’t sealed off and still had power. That’s all he needed for this experiment.

Pitfall was in two days and their options were running out. Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon falling in the harbor against two kaiju sealed their fate. His dad was injured and that made it all the worse. Raleigh and Mako proved they could handle a jaeger, but that wasn’t enough. Pitfall was choreographed for a four jaeger drop, not the one and a half jaegers they currently had.

This was beyond what the American’s called a Hail Mary. Chuck put on his modified pons. Throwing the circuits and started to drift. But he engaged the equations and secondary power unit, the drift changed in ways that Chuck never experienced yet.

“Oi!” His brain felt like he was being catapulted off a cliff. “This better work!”

Chuck sat up and looked around. He was in his childhood bedroom. He had to hold on to what higher thoughts he could, but a ten-year-old brain couldn’t handle an adult brain interfacing with it for longer than two hours he’d learned.

“Mummy!” Charlie climbed out of bed and raced to the front of the house. Turning on the telly, Scissure was already coming to Sydney. “Mummy!”

Angela Hansen walked over and hugged her son. “We’ll be fine my little wombat. Daddy is on his way. Your school is still a shelter and mummy has to help get all the sick people to safety.”

Chuck could already feel the tug of the drift fraying. “Mum, don’t go, we need to leave.”

The cadence of her Charlie’s voice caught her off guard. She saw fear and something else, a maturity that her sweet, smart boy didn’t have. He wasn’t naïve, but he was an open honest child. “Why, luv?”

“Mum, the monster is going to destroy Sydney and then a big bomb is coming.” Chuck’s brain pattern was giving way to Charlie. Only bits and pieces would remain soon.

Knowing something was wrong, she picked up the phone and called her husband. “Lee, Charlie is acting odd. Listen to me! He says they are going to nuke the monster. Is he right?”

Over the phone, Herc Hansen stared at it for a moment. There was no way for Charlie to know the plans. He barely found out that that the Americans were sending different multi-yield bombs to potentially use. “Luv, get Charlie and go to see your best friend in Melbourne. It’s a good time for a vacation.”

“Okay.” She hung up and went to pack a few things. She got Charlie into the backseat of the car.

The connection to the drift broke all at once. Chuck was hurdled back like a catapult to his proper time.

Pulling off the pons, only two minutes had elapsed after spending two hours in his younger self. He got through this time. Mum was leaving to someplace because his dad finally listened and they were off, but the connection shattered. Everything was working correctly.

Getting up and looking around, Chuck double checked all the diagnostics and they came back clean. He’d been able to hold the drift with his ten-year-old self for as long as two days. In every one of those attempts, Chuck lost control of Charlie by the fourth hour but was able to observe until he broke the connection when Scissure stormed the city or it got nuked.

During testing over the last six months, Chuck could control a younger version of himself starting at fourteen. And it was always after he’d had at least one drift test at the Academy. He didn’t have time to explore why that was. He saw the K-Science logs and knew there were some theories about the frequency of kaiju attacks that were now confirmed. Pitfall was literally their last chance.

He pulled over his tablet and marks down his seventieth observation. Time could be manipulated but that change kicked him out hard. He never tried to do anything at any other point in the timelines but observe to see at what ages he could takeover and try. But the whole point was to save his mum and then defeat the kaiju.

Finishing up, he needed a few hours rest before he attempted this again. Time was limited.

Pitfall departure was set for ten hours. Chuck had two attempts left to try to change Fate.

The Drift engaged, but something was wrong. This was nothing like any of the other seventy tests he tried.

‘No matter what you do,’ came an echo in the Drift.

That was his own voice. He knew his own cadence even if this version sounded older, worn. Tired.

‘You cannot save her.’

Chuck was looking at himself, but older. His hair was gray in parts, the lines in his face worn deep. He’s missing a leg and part of an arm. “Why?”

A sigh echoed across the drift. ‘Because she’s a fixed point in Time. Her death makes all this possible. Without it…Charlie Hansen keeps going, but Chuck is never realized.’

This Chuck sagged and thought about it. The drive to beat them. The lack of direct oversight by his dad. All the learning he gained by unconventional means. Charlie Hansen was smart, genius level, but it would have been conventional; staying in regular schools, probably sent to uni. Mum would want him safe. J-Tech, K-Science, but probably never a Ranger. “Pitfall is in hours, we can’t win.”

The older, battle worn Chuck nodded in agreement. ‘I’m still alive with a four jaeger drop and it took two years to recover to this level. There is a solution but it costs us giving up the dream of mum again.’

Cringing, what more did the universe want him to sacrifice? There was nothing left of him except his life. “What is it?”

‘You’ve studied a number of inflection points. Pick one where younger you can make them listen. Change the war early enough. You need at least six jaegers to beat them at the breach.’

Looking at his older self, he understood that this was a different path. “What happens to us? How do we win?”

‘That’s the unknown. Winning is different in every timeline, you have to discover your way in your time stream. But it’s a chance for humanity, isn’t it?’ Older him stared at him for a moment. ‘A chance to change things for everyone. Find a point later that can get the best result.’

Older him got closer in the drift. His hardened face was full of sympathy. ‘It is a terrible choice but must be made. And you know you have to make it. I’m sorry. I know how much we want this but…Charlie and Chuck are mutually exclusive and mum means Charlie lives. Chuck must exist for the K-War and more.’

Chuck pulled off the PONS and collapsed on the floor. He’d worked so hard and it was impossible to achieve the result. He couldn’t do both. Chuck Hansen had to fight and for that to happen, his mum dies. His heart ached.

Since the arrival of the Sydney crews, Tendo detected a power drain more than once. It was negligible but still recurring. He found that the source was an old lab on one of the abandoned levels. Security footage was sparse, but he got one image from a day ago of Chuck Hansen using that lab. The kid was all mission all the time, whatever was happening down there had to be handled carefully.

Tendo informed the Marshal and the senior Ranger Hansen what he saw.

“Herc,” Pentecost started. “What has Chuck been working on?”

A small bitter laugh came of his mouth before he could stop it. “You think he’d share anything like that with me? We can fight together in the drift, but thoughts we can keep separate.”

Stacker looked at his daughter and motioned for her to follow as well. “Let’s see what the boy’s been working on.”

The small group went down three levels and a long accessway. “No one would know anything happening down here,” noted Raleigh.

“I think Chuck wanted it that way,” Mako answered. “He is a brawler as you put it but his mind is incredibly sharp.”

They opened the lab and they all stopped as they saw the tough, arrogant, cocky Chuck leaning against some kind of device crying.

“Chuck?” Herc leaned over to his son on the floor sobbing. “Chuck?” he hadn’t seen his son like this since Scissure. His heart broke. “What is it?”

“No matter what I can’t save her. It’s impossible. It’s a paradox,” Chuck pulled his knees to his chest. Years of trying and it was over.

“What is all this Ranger?” that was the Marshal. His voice was harsh, but not the commanding boom he used when he was angry.

Finally looking up, Chuck saw Mako, Becket, Tendo, the Marshal, and his dad. Sighing, he wiped his eyes and he started, “Some of the early Anteverse readings showed potential for temporal displacement. But the research was abandoned five years ago.

“I got my hands on it before it was deleted from the servers. They wanted to send someone back in Time, but we simply lack the power. You need like three fusion reactors working in unison to get what you need and that’s iffy. You can however, send a consciousness back through the drift,” Chuck looked over and saw shocked faces.

“And what did you just learn?” Herc asked as he was right in front of his wrecked son.

Motioning to himself, Chuck started. “Mum’s dying set my brain in motion, my ability to do all this. I’ll live as Charlie if she lived, but I never become a Ranger, which has negative impacts in itself, but I never build this either.”

“Ranger, focus, what else did you learn?” the Marshal’s voice was edging towards that level that made Chuck grit his teeth.

“We don’t have enough jaegers. I die. Period.” Chuck ran his hands through his hair. “And even then, the odds are terrible for success. Six is always optimal and earlier, before we start losing pilots by the numbers.”

The others looked at Chuck and then at Pentecost. Raleigh cleared his throat. “You’re an annoying, cocky, brat, but fucking smart. You have to have an idea what to do then.”

“Wanker,” came an automatic grunted response. “I do, but…” He sighed. “This conversation will never have existed and the future is unknown from that point.”

“What’s your plan, Ranger,” Stacker asked as he helped Herc up. He had a feeling what he was going to hear and he really didn’t want to ponder the implications.

“Go back to the Academy and change the course of history. Pick a point where I can interact as me, but through a younger body. Convince someone to listen. Stop them long before we get to this point.”

Herc and Stacker traded looks. Tendo moved next to Chuck. “How much time do you need?”

“Time flows differently. I spent two hours in Sydney last night, but was only in the drift here for less than three minutes.” Chuck sighed as he got up. “There is only time for one more drift before we have to launch the attack.”

Stacker pointed to the chair. “Ranger, proceed and good luck.”

Disoriented, Chuck sat up and looked around and then at himself. He was at the Academy. Looking at his body, he sighed, he was fourteen again. Short, puberty challenged, and skinny, he hated this. But going back in the past was not an exact science. He needed to check a few things. He did some stretches to see how his flexibility was, surprised to see that he was in good form already. Just scrawny again and short. Ugh.

Checking the date and his schedule, he’d already had two brain scans to check his physical ability to drift as well as two successful drift tests. He had another scan and test the next day with Dr. Lightcap overseeing them in person. That was perfect.

Muscle memory helped Chuck navigate his way through the Academy that day. Reliving puberty was a curse all its own and he was almost eighteen centimeters shorter than he was used to at this point. He didn’t want to think about how much smaller his cock currently was either. Puberty sucked!

When it came time for his scan and drift test, he walked over to Dr. Lightcap. He’d met her a few times outside of the Academy setting.

“Dr. Lightcap?” he asked in his small broken teenage voice.

“Hello, Mr. Hansen, this should be standard procedure. Though you being three years younger than anyone else here I always look for any changes in your brain activity,” she reached over and ruffled his hair. She’d met him when he was eleven and Herc first joined the PPDC.

“That’s what I’d like to talk about, you’ll probably see something strange today. Can we talk about it in private after all the tests today?” Chuck had no idea how to navigate what he needed to do. He couldn’t wave a magic wand and change the timeline. Knowledge had to be implemented carefully.

She looked at him concerned for a second, but she also knew he was blowing all the other cadets out of the water in course work. The brain scans for him actually showed remarkable adaptability to the test drifts. She had his files already in a separate folder for another research project. Neural plasticity rarely had the ability to get tested over the course of time with so many candidates especially related ones or ones so young.

“Of course.” She patted him on the arm and motioned him into the test room. “Begin.”

Chuck fitted the old school pons on his head and engaged the test. He heard the intake of breath next to him. Side-eyeing her, she quickly remembered their earlier conversation. Chuck felt nothing unusual but he didn’t know what was normal now.

Two hours later, Chuck walked into Dr. Lightcap’s office. She closed the door. “Explain why your brain is showing activity that is very different from your previous scans and you are showing advanced brainwave activity with overlapping theta waves that should not be present.”

Sitting down, Chuck looked at her. “I’m from 2025. We are about to lose the war. I sent my consciousness back to my younger self to try to change the events of the war.”

She stared at him for a moment. “If I didn’t see the evidence in front of me and the fact that Chuck Hansen is absolutely not a prankster and known to be far more serious than any fourteen-year-old should be, I’d call you a liar.”

“Doctor…” he stopped speaking at her upraised hand.

“How is this possible?” she was having a problem taking the leap that she was talking to an adult in a teen’s body.

“Anteverse research happening now will discover potential temporal distortions. But they wanted to send a person. But it took over seventy different tests to get to this point. There is no time left when I left.” Chuck sighed and tried to stop the worry.

She sat back and looked at the kid. “What’s the plan?”

“Start with one key event coming up. I thought I’d land closer to the event but its still four months away. I need to make sure the Beckets survive. Everything starts going to shit after Yancy dies and Raleigh ends up in a coma.” He looked at her. His eyes pleading with her to understand. “It’s bad.”

That brought her up short. “No one will believe you without some proof and Command is under pressure to get pilot teams out there. They barely believe this science.” She taped her pen on the desk for a few moments. “Your brain is different from every other cadet we’ve ever seen. It’s your youth and intelligence I think.”

She pulled up his academic record. “I’ll arrange for you to test out of two of your classes and that will allow you to visit me in Seattle for special tests. And for you to sneak a few other places. You can do what research you need here as my intern. I think the Academy with appreciate the break from you,” she added with a smirk.

He understood what she was saying. “I’ll need to get to the Ice Box within a week of that event. We still have time to figure out how to explain it. I have to convince them to listen and not die. Hopefully they won’t be the bloody idiots that they were the last time.”

Thanks to Dr. Lightcap, Chuck now had access to the PPDC transport network. Logistics wasn’t something Chuck knew the day-to-day operations of. This was a new learning experience. He went to Seattle twice a week now for a different scan and drift session at her lab there.

Living as a teenager again was like reading a book he already read. But with the change in his schedule, he was her intern and actually doing his own research into the use of nukes at the breach among other things. Stacker was going on blind faith this last time, but Chuck wanted this done right. It was the unknown that really bothered him.

He forgot what growing pains felt like and he was going through a growth spurt. His fifteenth birthday passed and Chuck was shooting up rapidly. He had to keep up with his exercise because he needed to be a Cadet, but he was still focused on how to change the future. But going through puberty again was hell. But as the time passed, Chuck thought he was ready to at least make the first effort in changing the timeline.

There was one conversation he had with Dr. Lightcap about a month ago. “Doctor, can you look into Uncle Scott? Something happens with him about a month after the loss of the Beckets. Dad never said and the records are sealed. It was medical in nature.”

The only thing she found was Scott’s file was largely empty and he hadn’t had a brain scan in two years in direct contravention of Ranger protocols of getting scanned every three months.

“This is highly irregular,” she said at that time. “Let me dig further.”

This time he was on a jumphawk with her going to the Ice Box. Knifehead was around the corner and he needed to change the timeline. It started here. She was going to work on the new pons system and Chuck was going to find the Beckets. That was easier said than done. First thing though, he wanted to see Gipsy. His love for her was undiminished. His intern pass with Lightcap could get him anywhere that wasn’t Classified.

He looked up at her and at the upper catwalk he saw two figures. Bingo. It took him five minutes to get up there but they were still there.

“Should you be up here, kid?”

Chuck couldn’t help but stare for a moment. Yancy Becket was still alive and in front of him. Raleigh looked young and care free, not the haunted half wraith that blew into Hong Kong in time for the End.

Raising his pass, “Yeah, I’m with Dr. Lightcap. Chuck Hansen.”

“As in Herc’s son?” Yancy asked again. “Rals, this is the kid that is about to obliterate your record for youngest Ranger.”

“My dad and uncle get sick of me talking about your jaeger, I think she’s the best.” He looked at her from above. “I need to talk to you two. Is there some place we won’t get interrupted.”

“Why?” asked Raleigh. This kid wasn’t acting like a kid to him. He was a teenager, gangly, looked like his body didn’t fit right, but the confidence threw Raleigh off.

Chuck looked at them and sighed. “In a week, a kaiju is going to come to Alaska. It will do something no kaiju has done before. It will bypass Romeo Blue and come after you in the Danger.”

Both Rangers stopped cold. Yancy reached over and grabbed Chuck and pulled him down the narrow walkway to the storage rooms off the catwalks. Once they were there, an angry Yancy looked right at Chuck. “Explain!”

“I could give you the details, but this one,” he pointed at Raleigh, “likes to say he got through the Academy but the technical stuff gets too much sometimes.”

“We’ve never met, how do you know that,” Raleigh looked confused now.

Chuck sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “We meet in a little over five years and I hate you for the wrong reasons. I already apologized.”

Yancy looked back and forth and got a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Future? How?”

“Mate, focus on these things: it is called Knifehead and it will move towards you. There is a fishing trawler that is in the way. Raleigh will want rescue it. Knifehead appears dead, it isn’t. Then it does…” Chuck’s voice broke. He looked at Yancy, “Mate, we’ve never met. It attacks the conn pod directly.”

He could see the disbelief and anger building in the brothers. “Believe me or not, but losing you sets in motion our defeat. Where I’m coming from, I will die tomorrow because we don’t have enough jaegers.”

The defeated look didn’t fit on the teenager in front of them. Yancy took a deep breath. “So beware the possum act?”

“Mates, be smart this time,” Chuck begged. “No one knows why it went after you, but it does. Stay alert and make sure it’s dead.”

Raleigh and Yancy traded looks. Yance shrugged, “I don’t know what to think but thanks.”

Chuck nodded and left to catch up with Dr. Lightcap. This was it. Months of being a teenager and the fulcrum was here. He hoped he gave them enough warning.

Back in the lab at the shatterdome in the Prime timeline, Dr. Gottlieb started getting strange readings on his instruments. “Where is the Marshal?” he called to LOCCENT looking for Pentecost.

Tendo listened on the comms and routed the call to this lab. “Marshal, Dr. Gottlieb is looking for you.”

“Yes, doctor?” answered Pentecost. He glanced at his watch. Chuck started this mission less than five minutes ago.

“Sir, we are picking up…sir…what I’m reading is only supposed to be theoretical. But we are seeing some tachyons and neutrinos but unable to locate the sources.” Gottlieb’s voice changed in tenor. “Sir, this could be related to a Temporal event and that’s not supposed to be possible.”

The whole dome suddenly shook. Dust rained down from places that hadn’t been disturbed in ages.

“That was an earthquake, but…no one is reporting a seismic event,” Gottlieb mentioned with increased concern. “Marshal, something is very wrong.”

A second much stronger quake rattled the building sending things crashing to the floor.

“Sir, this…this can only be a Temporal event. The readings are…” The screen went blanks and power began fluctuating.

Herc turned and watched as Tendo and Mako suddenly vanished. “Stacks!”

“Herc, hopefully…” Stacker was gone before he could finish.

Raleigh looked around and vanished.

“Son,” Herc said holding onto Chuck’s hand. “I know I’ll see you soon.” He vanished.

The fight was broadcast at the Academy. All kaiju fights were, everyone still treated them like boxing fights now that they had jaegers to fight back with. Chuck knew better and could barely contain his anxiety. His memories from the first time he witnessed this warred with experiencing it again. He’d been so gung-ho then. He walked to the landing pad and took off. He was going to wait for outcome at the Ice Box. Chuck long since gave up praying but he offered up whatever thoughts he could that he did enough.

Chuck watched as Gipsy Danger made it back to the Ice Box. A shudder tore through his body and deep in his soul he knew that things had changed. This was now his timeline. He had no choice but to save this reality or else he failed two groups of people. Two tears fell as he mourned the people he’d never see again. They were still here, but it was different. He was different.

Caitlin Lightcap literally watched Chuck Hansen grow up in the last few months. She saw him writing things no teen, no matter how smart, would know. She knew he had a completely new jaeger designed on her servers, away from engineering. There were things in there that were barely discussed at the moment.

She handed Chuck a file. “Look at that in private and then we will talk.”

He nodded and made his way to Scramble Alley. Gipsy was damaged but could be repaired. The brothers were alive. He went up to the catwalks and watched as they returned the mighty jaeger to her berth. The conn pod had been attacked, but it was still intact. The right arm still attached, but looking a little worn.

“Hansen!”

Chuck turned at the voice. It was a tired looking Yancy with his right arm in a sling. He made his way over and paused as he took in the whole image. Yancy looked tired, worn out, and bruised.

“Thank you. We realized you were right as Rals wanted to rescue the trawler. He’s getting patched up.” Yancy reached over and gave Chuck a hug. “What do you need us to do to help you?”

“I’ll send you a list of dates and names soon. After you were lost there are two jaegers that fall in short order.” Chuck frowned. “I’ll be back to save Trevin and Bruce in a few weeks.”

“Give me your phone,” Yance said. He got it and programmed in two numbers. “That’s Rals and me. Anything, I mean anything you need, let us know.”

Chuck took his phone back and nodded. “Glad you made it. Now I need to fix a few other things.”

Yancy reached over and grabbed Chuck’s arm. “Come on, you can at least see Raleigh for yourself before you leave.”

Letting himself get dragged, Chuck went to Medical where Raleigh was shirtless. Drive suit burns were covered in an ointment. But that looked like the extent of the damage.

“Mate, those look a lot better this time around,” Chuck mentioned.

The grin Rals gave Chuck was one Chuck had never seen, much less had directed at him.

“Thank you! It was a close fight and I can see how close we came to getting smashed,” Raleigh offered his hand to Chuck. “I know Yancy found you, but thank you. I know there is a time difference, but if you ever need to talk. Text me.”

Chuck nodded. They had been his heroes the first time around and this time they lived through the nightmare. “Mate, you have no idea the door you just opened.”

Yancy clapped Chuck on the back. “Let’s get you out of here before Dr. Lightcap looks for you. Last thing you need is more work.”

The file that Dr. Lightcap gave Chuck was Scott’s medical records. And they weren’t right and they were hidden for some reason. She found some untampered records and there was an issue with Scott. He should not be piloting.

It hit Chuck like a ton of bricks. He looked at the authorizing signature, Douglas Harrison, Marshal PPDC. He tore through the files and found the one in the current file and the medical condition was gone. Forged. It was pinned on Scott and he was kicked out. That’s what would happen.

“They lied. They got Scott in and covered it up when he had the episode that destroyed the Lucky Seven.” Chuck sat back on his bed and tugged on his hair. His room was packed. He was leaving soon to either Seattle or maybe Sydney. But he was done with the Academy.

He pulled up deployments and saw that his dad, uncle, and Lucky Seven were in Taipei at the moment. It didn’t take a moment to arrange to be on transport to Taipei after getting his stuff sent to Seattle first. At least he would know where his boxes were before any other decisions were made.

Taipei was windy, not very humid, but Chuck was on a tight timetable. The next kaiju was due in four days and Lucky would be deployed. Walking into a dome was always a great experience for Chuck. Especially this dome, since Chuck had never been to Taipei. He made the walk and nodded at the techs.

“Charlie?” came a heavy Aussie accented voice.

Chuck turned to see his uncle and grinned. “Hi, Uncle Scott.” They hugged briefly, “Dad?”

“Sprog, what are you doin’ here?” Herc Hansen asked as he took in the sight. His son was taller than the last time he saw him. Filling out slowly. The boy was definitely becoming a man.

Walking over, Chuck decided that if he was making changes then there would be changes all around. He gave his dad a hug which was returned just as firmly. “I need to talk to you and Uncle Scott. In private. It’s important.”

Pointing to the hall past the Alley, the three Hansens made their way to a conference room. Chuck locked it and then handed Scott a file. “You can’t pilot anymore.”

Herc looked over Scott’s shoulder to see the medical records. “Chuck, what the hell is this?”

“Dad, Uncle Scott, you know I’ve never lied to you. Been an angry shite head, and downright rude bastard as you like to put it, but an honest one, ya?” He waited for two head nods that also had small grins.

“There is kaiju coming in four days. If you climb into the conn pod, Uncle Scott, you will have a seizure. Lucky is lost, and you are dismissed from the PPDC. I never see you again.” He raised his hand to stop them from speaking.

“I know this because I’ve lived it once already. I sent my mind back in Time to save us all. Where I was, we were hours from losing the war. Dr. Lightcap knows and so do the Beckets. I saved them. I want to save you too.”

Herc and Scott stared at the young Chuck. Herc wanted to object, but he could see the maturity. “But you’re still Chuck?”

“Ya, dad. I’m still your annoying bratty, arrogant, cocksure, sprog.” Chuck tried to grin, but it was so important. “I was twenty-one when I came back, so I’m still your sprog then too.”

Scott cleared his throat. “How are you going to stop this?”

“I can drift with dad and you are going to have a broken leg,” Chuck looked at his uncle with a pained face. He kicked his uncle in the shin and knew it was a perfect strike. “Sorry, mate.”

“Fuck!” Scott yelled while hopping on one leg. “What was that for?”

Herc glared at Chuck. Chuck shrugged and grabbed his uncle’s arm. “He can’t pilot for at least three weeks and I can jump in an emergency. I’m saving his life.”

“Bloody hell,” Scott leaned on his nephew. “Just wait until I get you on the mats next time, you whelp. See who have the bloody broken bone then!”

“Dr. Lightcap is also going to give you a brain scan. You haven’t had one in over two years.”

Herc stopped cold and so did Scott. Herc looked at Chuck, “What did you say?”

“He hasn’t had a brain scan in over two years. It’s in that file I showed you. He’s always been called away right when it was scheduled. Well, she’s here and we’re doing one,” Chuck said with steel in his voice. “He can’t run away or get called away and Command has no clue.”

Herc started walking, supporting his brother on one side while Chuck supported Scott on the other. There was so much suddenly dumped in his head and he didn’t know which way was up at the moment.

Three hours later, Dr. Lightcap showed Herc and Scott, the brain scan for Scott. “Here and here are weak points that need repair. Not drifting for a year would undo most of the damage I think, but one more time in Lucky and it would have been a disaster.”

Scott paled when he saw the scan. “Why wasn’t I given my regular follow ups?”

Dr. Lightcap looked at Chuck and then back at Scott and Herc. “We’re looking into it. We may never have noticed it except I’m closely watching Chuck’s brain development and pulled both your records to compare since he’s the only second-generation Ranger we have currently.”

Scott looked lost for a moment. “If I can’t pilot, what am I going to do?”

For the first time, the older Hansens saw a true grin on Chuck’s face. “Mate, who does everyone in the PPDC call when they need something?” That was a truism throughout the Corps; need something get in touch with Scott Hansen. “The Deputy Director of Logistics, Pac West is open.”

Herc tried to hide his grin. He could never see his brother riding a desk, but that job was tailor made for Scott. Busy, travel, and enough of a challenge to keep the man engaged daily. He reached over and ruffled Scott’s hair like he did when they were kids. “Sounds perfect for you brother.”

“As long as I’m not chained to a desk, I’ll do it.” Scott rubbed his chin. “And Charlie, I will get you back for this blasted broken leg.”

Three days later, the kaiju alarm went off and Command was not happy that Scott was injured and had no choice but to let Chuck climb into the conn pod with his father at the age of fifteen, a full three months before his sixteenth birthday.

“Son…” Herc started but didn’t know how to say what needed to be said right before they drifted for the first time.

“Nothing to it dad, you’ll see,” Chuck took a calming voice. This would be his first drift with someone else since he returned backwards in Time.

It was chaos for a moment, but the drift stabilized. Chuck shared some of the past with his father, but didn’t ask for anything in return. He kept the true reason for trying to change the past in the first place. But what he got was the strongest mental hug he ever experienced in the drift with his dad.

The three jaeger drop ended up with damage but all the jaegers survived. Most importantly, Scott Hansen was going to be around after this.

“Son, you did good, real good.” Herc leaned close enough to whisper. “I’m proud of you. But I want to know why that sonofabitch cleared Scott in the first place.”

Chuck nodded but didn’t say anything immediately. “Dad, I need to go back to Seattle with Dr. Lightcap, but I need to transfer to Sydney to be deployed with you and Striker.”

Herc nodded and ran a hand through Chuck’s hair. “You have one week. Don’t want you outta my sight much more, boy.” He was processing some of what he saw and he caught a glimpse of a nasty exchange when his boy was clearly an adult. He was not going to let his relationship with his son get there. Not this time.

There was one more immediate set of Rangers, Chuck knew he needed to save; the Gage twins were supposed to fall next. That two jaegers weren’t completely gone and under repair instead did change the dynamics as Chuck saw them. But the Gages had the next battle coming.

He walked around his bunk in Seattle, finishing putting everything away and getting it all to Sydney. Command was furious he piloted with his father in an emergency, but the grounding of Scott Hansen had quiet ripples in Command as well. Chuck was looking into it. Something stunk to high heaven.

“Have you heard anything?” Chuck asked Dr. Lightcap as he entered her office. She had become his unexpected mentor and a friend as well.

“No and Command is both a hive of activity and unusually quiet. Such a thing isn’t a good sign for anything.” She handed him a file. “Your brain scans are showing even more activity. Nothing bad, but I think as you get used to drifting with your dad, you should be a powerful force.”

Chuck knew he and his dad were good at fighting kaiju but this was different news. His brain scans the first time around showed some variation, but these were well beyond those variations. “What does it mean?”

“You exist with your brain always in some form of drift and when you are with another person, your brain amplifies the connection.” She gave him a lopsided grin. “You’ve been changing the timeline in more than one way. This is very valuable research, kiddo.”

“I’m off to San Diego; the Gages are down there. Please make sure my stuff gets to Sydney. I’d call Uncle Scott, but he’s still plotting revenge and I’d like to have some clothes that aren’t my dad’s when I get there.”

She reached over and gently grabbed his hand. “Be careful. This mess with Command, rumor has it that parts of the PPDC are…looking into all kinds of things. Your travel and time spent with me is documented as best as can be done, but you’ve been in places right before an attack. A pattern could get noticed.”

He nodded as tried to give her a smile, but none would come. “I’ve committed to this. I have to see it through.”

Chuck had never been to San Diego in either timeline. Sunny and warm, it did remind him a bit of his native land, but he also saw the damage done by Blue. He focused on what he could do.

He walked into the dome and made for the pilot’s lounge. Spotting the twins playing pool. The way the moved around each was so different than how he watched the Beckets or his dad and uncle. “G’day, mates,” was all he managed to say before one of the twins had him in a head lock.

“So, you are the newest Ranger? Far too young to get blackout drunk without breaking dozens of laws,” grinned Bruce from his stitching on his shirt. “You barely look like your balls dropped.”

Chuck pulled away and had no idea how to deal with these two. They were American Air Force officers which argued for a by the book mentality, but that was downright playful. “Oi, I’m almost sixteen. And m’ balls are big enough.”

The other brother, Trevin, walked over and gave Chuck a shoulder pat. “What brings you to San Diego?”

Taking a deep breath, Chuck looked at them. “You. I need to talk to you.”

The brothers traded a look. “We know of your visit to the Beckets and that they were not nearly as reckless with Knifehead as they normally would have been. We also saw a report with no listed author stating that the kaiju changed tactics, Gipsy was targeted and so was the conn pod.” That was Bruce talking.

Trevin took up the thread. “You show up in Taipei to visit your father and climb into Lucky and ends up Scott Hansen is medically sidelined. We’ve had a few chats with Caitlin, son.”

“Do I need to explain?” Chuck was nervous suddenly.

“No,” Trevin said as he maneuvered Chuck to one of the couches in the lounge. “But you aren’t as subtle as you think. Then again, you’re fifteen so there is that. Or how old are you?”

“Not yet twenty-two,” Chuck answered. “But this is me now. Listen, mates, you can’t drop with a single jaeger anymore. A kaiju is coming to Mexico soon and you need help. Gipsy won’t be ready in time.”

“We can have the Tunari brothers available to help us. How long?” asked Bruce.

“Six days. But I also need to know what you know about Douglas Harrison.” Chuck feared that there was something going on behind why his uncle’s medical records showing tampering.

“He was an Army four star General, was moved to the PPDC when it was formed as part of our contribution,” Trevin said. “He helped pull in other big names into the PPDC.”

Chuck had other things to think about now. This wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped.

Seattle was a second home for Chuck. It was two weeks after his second kill and the first in Striker. It was also two weeks after he turned sixteen. Dr. Lightcap requested a visit and Chuck came.

He nodded when he saw Marshal Pentecost on the campus.

“Mr. Hansen, not everyday you get a kaiju kill on your birthday and Striker’s first.” Pentecost offered his hand and smiled as Chuck shook it. “And how is your father?”

Chuck almost said that he knew that Stacker and Herc had some kind of romance going on and he was okay with it. But this wasn’t the place.

“He’s fine, bit of a bruise on his shoulder and his knee is janky,” Chuck grinned. “He’s fine. How’s Mako?”

“She’s here if you’d like to drop by. I know you have an appointment with Lightcap. Go do that and then come by and we’ll have lunch.”

Chuck nodded and headed to the building where Lightcap and the Drift sciences were housed. The problem he was having now was that this timeline was independent of the one he started from. Yancy, Scott, and the Gages were still alive and those jaegers were still in service. Raleigh was still around and whole, Chuck could not forget that.

But he didn’t remember where Pentecost was stationed the whole time. Chuck knew when the kaiju attacked, who was lost, and how badly the jaegers were damaged. He knew all the technical details of the jaegers and how the upgrades worked. In other words, he was fluent in J-tech, but he had huge blind spots suddenly.

“You look pensive,” Caitlin said as Chuck walked into her lab. ‘What’s wrong?”

“Changing the past doesn’t feel as easy at seemed when I was thinking of this adventure.” Chuck shrugged. His brain scans showed advanced brain activity was still happening and yet the overlapping theta waves were not longer present. He was one Chuck now, a kid with some knowledge of the future. Mainly engineering and other stuff from K-Science.

She handed him a folder and motioned him to one of the work stations. “Your advanced jaeger on my servers. Because of my inquires into all the medical records, there is an inquiry happening everywhere looking for anything. Those designs will be found.”

“What will that mean for me?” Chuck had been known as a jaeger nerd but this would be even beyond that. He flipped through the file and almost dropped it. Marshal Harrison, along with two other Marshals, approved and hid over a dozen medical anomalies for Ranger candidacy. So far only Scott made it into a jaeger, but that was one too many.

“Your scores are amazing and your proctors wanted you in J-tech, so you creating a jaeger schematic is actually exactly what we should expect from a recluse.” She sighed and handed him a cup of tea. “You are a very closed off young man.”

Scoffing, Chuck sipped his tea, shrugging at the same time. “I’m not as angry this time around. I…I’ve never had any real friends. Focused on the War.”

“Nothing I didn’t expect to hear.” She pointed at the file. “There’s more, but you need to be careful researching some of the notes. I saw some references to a Wall of Life but I don’t know much about it.”

Chuck sat down, stunned. Hearing that project was like a punch to the gut. It took a moment to get his breathing under control. “After Knifehead and the loss of Lucky, there was all kinds of fallout that the jaeger program was too expensive. Massive funding cuts happened and the Wall of Life started to get built. It was a bloody useless project that did no good.” Chuck squeezed his eyes shut as flashes of Mutavore tearing through the Sydney wall came into his mind. “If these wankers…”

“Let’s focus on your scans and then you can work on that project.” She paused. “What?”

“I’m supposed to have lunch with Marshal Pentecost and his daughter, Mako.” Chuck got settled and finally looked over at Dr. Lightcap.

“Good.” She had a small smile on her face. “It’s nice to know you have some social outlets.”

Chuck rolled his eyes. “Doctor, she was like a sister to me, I’m gay.”

She laughed an did ruffle his hair like she’d wanted since he walked in. “You aren’t subtle, your eyes follow a good-looking young man without fail.”

Chuck was glad he was in uniform instead of dressed casually. He took the directions given to him by Caitlin. He avoided meeting many people’s gazes, but most people were focused on their own issues and ignored him.

He knocked on the office door that said ‘Pentecost’ on it. As he entered, he saw that Stacker was on the phone. He waited in the outer room and started looking around. There was a series of Mark I jaeger schematics on the wall which was right on the nose given Stacker piloted a Mark I jaeger.

“Come in Chuck,” came from the inner office.

Walking in, Chuck nodded at Pentecost. “Sir.”

“We’ll be joining Mako at a little café two streets over.” Pentecost stood up and grabbed his hat. “How is your brain?”

“Dr. Lightcap says its still unusual but highly effective at fighting in a jaeger.” Chuck followed the taller man out of the building. “Other than that, she says it’s all good.”

They made small talk until the walked in and saw Mako. “Chuck!” She got up and gave him a hug. “I did not know you would be here.”

“Appointment with Dr. Lightcap for my brain scan.” He sat down and asked her how things were. She would be going to the Academy in year.

Stacker cleared his throat. “We need to talk and I didn’t want it done on campus.” Their orders were taken and he leaned forward. “You’ve made some unusual trips Chuck and it’s caught some attention. What are you up to?”

Chuck looked between Mako and Stacker. His relationship with Mako started to fade right around this point in the previous timeline. This was a chance to solidify his relationship with the person he considered his sister.

“I found a way to send my mind back in Time, through the Pons, to change events. We were one day away from losing. I’ve changed things but I’m not sure how much.” Chuck sipped his water as he looked at them.

Mako blinked a few times and gently grabbed Chuck’s hand. “What have you changed?”

Pentecost leaned forward in interest. “Tell me.”

“The turning point in the war was Knifehead. Yancy Becket was killed and Raleigh piloted solo. The drift didn’t disengage and he felt his brother die. He returned at the end to help the last stand.

“With that a series of losses as the kaiju clearly adapted, weren’t mindless, and the Wall of Life took most of the PPDC funding.” Chuck saw Stacker’s eyes narrow with that statement. “We had almost no political support when I left.”

“How do you know about the Wall of Life?” Pentecost’s eyes bore holes in Chuck’s head.

“Saw it get built in so many places and get torn apart when a kaiju called Mutavore attacked Sydney. Luckily, dad and I were still there to kill it with Striker. There were only four jaegers left at that point and a week later we were down to two,” Chuck shook his head. The weight of that time still weighed on him.

“There are some people looking for a way to get that Wall built, but the jaegers keep winning.” Stacker turned to Mako. “Show him.”

Pulling out her tablet, Mako showed Chuck a few entries and articles. “Sensei suspected something when Marshal Harrison’s brother bid on a contract to build the Wall, but funding hasn’t changed yet. Three other Marshals in other parts of the Rim are doing the same, trying to get construction contracts.”

Chuck sat back and sighed. “And now those that could get caught are looking for anything inside the PPDC to create a scandal.”

Stacker nodded. “You need to stay in Sydney or only travel with your Uncle Scott. You’ve made some changes for the better, but those that wanted to make money off the Wall are furious.”

Mako nodded as she changed what was on her tablet. “Already there are rumors of kickbacks that are falling through and that is making local politics tricky.” She gave Chuck a small smile. “I like to track what the UN is doing.”

“Glad someone likes that shite,” Chuck muttered but smiled at her. “So, the Academy next year?” He switched subjects. His anxiety didn’t need any more fuel as it was. His brain never turned off and he would like to sleep eventually.

Chuck finished his workout and tried to unwind some muscles. His seventeenth birthday passed with a few well wishes and some toys for Max, who was his sixteenth birthday present. It didn’t matter the timeline; Max was the best.

The last few months had been incredibly tense and Chuck laid as low as he could for a Ranger that captured the attention of the World-Wide Press as being the youngest Ranger. Chuck tried to be brash and cocky, but came across as intense instead. The internal conspiracy over the Wall of Life took a few turns and had political implications in a number of PPDC countries. Chuck followed some of it, but really focused on the conundrum of the breach. That was his priority.

But during that same stretch of time, Striker had their third kill and his fourth overall. But he was on medical restriction because of the trauma his left side suffered. Bruised ribs and strained abdominals weren’t the worst he’d suffered but it was enough that he was off jaeger duty for a month.

“Mate, I know you aren’t cleared for that,” Scott said as he walked into the kwoon. “Don’t think I won’t rat you out to your dad.” Since becoming Logistics Director for the Western Pacific, Scott had been a bit more mature and present in Chuck’s life.

Sighing, Chuck knew better and put down the bo and nodded at his uncle. He knew he meant well and that’s why Chuck didn’t argue. The major difference Chuck had this time around was he was far less combative, still not openly friendly, but not as prickly. He was just as focused but the maturity he gained the first time around translated to this younger version of himself.

It wasn’t lost on the people that Chuck saved though. They all had a flash of what could have been at the moment the timeline changed. The Gages, the Beckets, Scott, and the Tunari brothers were all deeply grateful for being alive and still functioning. But in their hearts and souls they knew that there was another fate that could have befallen them if not for the youngest Hansen.

But there was something about the young man that always made them give him a second glance. None could place it instantly, but the Rangers started looking out for their youngest member. They knew something was off, not wrong, but off.

“Your dad was looking for you, better go before he finds you here.” Scott patted his nephew on the back. “And remember, Striker is in repairs and upgrades for the next month and you are not to get involved for at least three weeks.” Scott appointed himself Chuck’s minder when he was around. He knew his brother was keeping a much closer eye on the kid too.

Nodding, Chuck wandered off to the offices. Chuck never asked for one, he preferred to be in the bays working or in his room designing. Knocking on the door, he nodded at his dad. “You needed me?”

Nodding, Herc took in his son. Almost as tall as him now, thin, but the muscles were defined. Not a boy anymore by a long stretch but not yet a man either. The boy was a Ranger, focused and determined. But there was something off. He had an idea what it was and he was going to fix it. “Scott is going to throw you on a transport in two hours. You’re going to the Ice Box.”

Chuck stood there confused. “Why?”

“To hang out with the Beckets. They are on light duty too, but…son, they are your friends and I don’t think you realize how lonely you are.” Herc placed a hand on Chuck’s shoulder. “And you don’t have to be.”

In a very light whisper, Chuck uttered, “I deserve to be.”

“Why?” Herc shifted his hand to grip the boy’s neck and used his thumb to gently get his son to look at him. “Why would you even think that?”

Looking down again, he couldn’t face his father at the moment. The truth. Confession. “I did this all for selfish reasons and I failed. I wanted to save mum and I can’t.”

That bombshell stunned Herc but he didn’t let go. “I can’t say I understand exactly what you are talking about, but how many have you saved? Son…” the words caught in his mouth. “I couldn’t save her either. But you came first. Always.”

Chuck knew and he moved closer to his dad. “I wanted to save her so much and I…its impossible. And no matter what I do…it’s not enough.”

“You learn to take the victories where you find them, son,” Herc rested his head against Chuck’s. “And it isn’t selfish. You lost her so young and…you lost your sense of home too.” Herc rubbed Chuck’s head. “Go to Alaska for two weeks and spend some time with people closer in age to you. Relax. Learn what it means to have friends. Caitlin agrees you need it.”

Not knowing what to expect, having the Gages and Beckets waiting for him on the landing pad was a shock. Chuck hid his grin as he walked over carrying his duffle and backpack. “I wasn’t expecting such a welcome, mates!”

Chuck accepted the pats on the back and big hug from Raleigh. Trevin Gage took the duffle and nodded at the others.

“We’ll catch up with you in the Rec room in a bit,” Yancy said as he gave Chuck a shoulder hug.

Trevin walked Chuck to a guest bunk, but closed the door. He looked at the young man and gave him a small smile. “Chuck, you have friends here. There is a sadness about you that I don’t think you realize it.

“We have an uncle, a Jesuit, who will be in Seattle in two weeks. We’d like you to talk to him. He’s also a psychologist.” Trevin gripped Chuck’s shoulder tightly. “You are allowed to enjoy yourself. And I don’t think you know that. All of us that know what you’ve done, we want you to know that this is also your chance to help yourself. Do not beat yourself over whatever guilt you are holding onto. As Catholics, Bruce and I see that in you. It’s not that hard once you know what to look for.”

Stunned, Chuck took a breath and nodded. None of this was part of his first go around. “Okay,” he whispered.

Five minutes later, Trevin dumped Chuck in the Rec room. Bruce grinned, “Unlike these two, we’re married and our wives appreciate the opportunity to have a week off. We’ll see you when we get back.”

Chuck plopped on the couch and was instantly engulfed in a hug from Raleigh. He couldn’t stop the grin and the difference in the bloke was night and day from the sad sack he met the first time around.

“Alright, Yance and I talked about this a bit. You were ten when Scissure hit right?” Raleigh kept his arm around Chuck as he asked.

A simple nod with a low, “Yeah,” was the answer.

Yancy sat down on the other side of Chuck. “This week, no jaeger schematics or work of any kind. We will do some work in the kwoon, but you are under orders to relax. Starting with…”

Raleigh pulled out a controller, “Mario Cart! We’ll ease you into playing other games, but you are going to be lazy. It takes work to be lazy.”

Three hours later, Chuck elbowed Raleigh and Yancy couldn’t believe how bad Chuck was at the game. “You should pick this up faster!”

Seeing the red building in Chuck’s face, Raleigh grinned at him. He leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You are far too young to get drunk with us, but you’d see this is getting off light when it comes to the teasing.”

“Here.” Yancy handed Chuck a sleeve of Tim Tams. “They are from your uncle. He said these were likely the only kind of junk food you’d make yourself sick overeating.”

Chuck’s eyes widened but only took four when he opened the sleeve. “I’m willing to share with you two drongos. Oh, mate I miss these!”

The Beckets traded looks because it was the first time that Chuck sounded like a kid around them. It was a good sound.

Later that night, Chuck was having a nightmare. He didn’t know that sharing a suite with his dad and uncle helped keep the nightmares away because of the strong ghost drifts. But stress, trauma, and distance all impacted Chuck. He couldn’t save her, couldn’t save anyone.

“Chuck…” Raleigh had his arm around the boy. “Its just a nightmare. Chuck, wake up buddy.”

The waves of panic slowly receded as Chuck felt a strong arm holding him. “What?”

Yancy turned on the desk light, but not the room lights. He sat down next to Chuck and took one of his hands in his own. “You were having a doozy of a nightmare. You’re safe. You’re with friends.”

Raleigh had Chuck in a full hug. “Yance, go back to bed. I’ll make sure he goes back to sleep.”

Pulling Chuck back down, Raleigh kept the young Ranger in a hug and whispered. “Go back to sleep, I got you.”

A solid warm body held him, the nightmare and anxiety drifted away. Chuck relaxed and went back to sleep.

Yancy sighed as he felt Rals drift off holding Chuck. Herc and Scott warned them that Chuck wasn’t doing well. He was withdrawn with an air of sadness about him. Raleigh had enough sunshine in him to help with that and Yancy was determined to make sure Chuck knew he wasn’t alone.

There was a car arranged for the trip to the Chancery of the Seattle Archdiocese from the PPDC landing field. It was in the heart of downtown and Chuck was grateful that no one asked why he was going there. Getting out, he knew that PPDC Security would wait for him to leave. All they knew was he was meeting with a visiting dignitary.

The doors opened and he walked in.

“Ah, Ranger Hansen, if you will go the elevators. You are expected on the fifth floor. His Grace is expecting you,” the elderly receptionist said with a kind smile.

“Thank you,” he replied and followed the instructions to the elevator bank. He made it to the proper floor and was shocked that the place looked like what he imagined an office building to look like, not at all like a church he expected.

“Ranger Hansen, this way. I’m Monsignor Jacobs, His Grace’s secretary. We’ve set aside two hours for this meeting though the archbishop made it clear you are the priority so please take all the time you need.” The priest extended his hand and gave him a brilliant smile. “Please enjoy your visit.”

Chuck was shown into a large office with a view of Puget Sound. An older man in a priest’s cassock with magenta accents smiled at him.

“Hello, Mr. Hansen, I’m Andrew Gage. Bruce and Trevin told me you are a remarkable young man and given what I’ve learned I would have to agree with them.” He motioned to a set of chairs near the window. “Please sit.”

Doing as requested; Chuck tried to calm his nerves. He was doing this because the Ice Box pilots all thought this was a good idea. He reached for his tea and smiled. “I’m not sure what a Jesuit is? I mean I know you are a priest, well archbishop apparently. I’m not really religious.”

The prelate sat down and nodded. “It is very understandable for a number of reasons. You lost your mother and home very young. Hard to believe in a higher power when a monster shows up and ravages your home.

“But as for me, Jesuits believe in the determination of good works for the betterment of humankind. Education is a hallmark of our Order. The reason my nephews wanted me to talk with you is because I am a psychologist. You are carrying a great burden that several of your friends and companions noticed.”

The man smiled at Chuck again. “You are so young and yet the weight of experience and hard-won wisdom sit upon you. But there is more, my nephews said they could not explain but to ask.”

It took a moment for Chuck to gather his thoughts. “I achieved a remarkable breakthrough a two and a half years ago. I moved my twenty-one-year-old mind back into my younger self to change the war. We were about to lose. But…” Chuck couldn’t stop the ache in his chest.

“I started it for selfish reasons. I wanted to save my mum, but can’t. It’s a paradox.” Chuck wiped at his eyes. “I just told my dad this last month. No matter what…”

“Stop.” The priest offered him a tissue and so much more sympathy than Chuck thought he deserved with that look. “Your feel guilty for being selfish. Mr. Hansen, Chuck, taking into account your second trip through your war years, I doubt you’ve ever mourned properly. Wanting something for yourself is natural. And human, something you are allowed to be.

“Fighting monsters creates a whole new area for PTSD and while not my area, I am familiar with it as my brother had it after Iraq.” The elder Gage sighed again. “Have you made a difference?”

Looking at the priest, he nodded. “Yancy Becket, my uncle, and your nephews are still around and in fighting form. We have enough jaegers to defend the Rim. You took that information rather well.”

“I’m a Jesuit, I understand science and faith. We had monsters show up from another dimension, and we found a way to fight back. Human ingenuity is tireless and boundless. What is your achievement but a testament to divine inspiration in the hour of need,” he said with another smile.

“If I may, you are young and you were so young when this all started. You are reliving trauma on top of trauma. Give yourself some grace, Chuck. A good deed done is still a good deed regardless of intent.” Another smile and he handed Chuck an old Matchbox car. “A child handed that to me years ago to share with a kid who didn’t have anything to play with. Given your past, I doubt you played much since you were ten.”

Gripping the car tightly, Chuck shook his head. “Not really.”

“There is a war still raging and you are in the thick of it. Take a moment every so often to remember why you are fighting, but to also think about you.”

“Thank you.” Chuck didn’t remember the last time he felt this raw in a long time. But he also felt a little lighter.

Finishing a session in the kwoon against his uncle and then his dad was grueling but an exercise he found he truly loved. It forced him to think in different ways against different styles. And Scott was more focused now and that made him Herc’s equal.

A call came down from LOCCENT. “Rangers Hansen, there is a Priority One jumphawk on approach. They are requesting a meeting with Chuck in one hour in Conference Room Alpha.”

This wasn’t unexpected, but Chuck dreaded it anyway. Five total kills in Striker and six overall and it was possible that his career in the PPDC was over. Mako sent him cryptic messages every so often and Command had purged elements that didn’t seem to have the War in mind at all times.

“I’ll get cleaned up and meet them there,” Chuck said. But he stopped when he felt his arm grabbed.

“Wear a uniform and know what you have people supporting you.” Herc pulled his son into a hug. “Go on.”

It was six months from his meeting with at priest in Seattle and Chuck did try to think about what he was told was self-care. He wasn’t sure he was doing it right, but he still had to win this war. If they allowed him to stay.

He sat waiting and schooled his face into a mask of indifference when four different Marshals walked in along with Dr. Lightcap. Chuck hid his surprise and noticed that one of the Marshal’s headed PPDC engineering and another was part of K-Science.

“Ranger Hansen, we would like to discuss a few things with you.” The Marshal pointed to the monitors and soon Chuck’s jaeger designs started filling the screens. “We’ll start with this.”

A nearly complete schematic of a fully functional Mark VI jaeger came up. “We found this and we also take note of a number of your trips that preceded kaiju attacks. We also have Dr. Lightcap’s medical analysis of your brain.”

The man stopped as three more PPDC Command members walked in, including Stacker Pentecost.

Scott walked in as well, in uniform with Herc trailing, they sat next to Chuck. Scott cleared his throat, “If this is a full inquest then my nephew deserves to have someone sit with him.”

The Marshal that had been speaking, Donovan, clearly looked displeased with the turn of events. Three monitors went up and soon three conference rooms were online full of pilots watching the proceedings.

“What is this?” Marshal Donovan demanded.

Pentecost cleared his throat. “Word got around that parts of Command wanted to fry Chuck Hansen. Most of the Rangers took that personally.”

“I want an explanation!”

Chuck saw that Command was split and he was tired of hanging out in the Shed. “The truth, and Dr. Lightcap can help with some of the science, is I sent my consciousness back in Time to try to win the war because we were about to lose.”

He held up his hand and pulled up his personal folders on the Shed servers. Under a clearly labelled porn folder was a video. “This is personal recording I made six months ago with some details. I hid it in my porn folder since I know no one wants to see what weird spank bank material another Ranger is into.”

That got laughs in the other conference rooms.

“What was your plan?” came from a different Marshal.

“To change the past so we didn’t have such heavy losses.” Chuck looked at the assembled Marshals. “The day I did this was the day after we lost Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon. The Kaidonovskys and Weis were gone and my father had a busted clavicle. Striker was intact and Gipsy was able, but we knew there were at least two Cat IV kaiju waiting at the breach. Three Rangers and two jaegers was all we had left at the end.

“I had just watched a Cat IV kaiju named Mutavore tear thru the so-called Wall of Life like it was nothing. Striker was ordered decommissioned, but we fought anyway, to save Sydney.

“But I knew there was a point in Time where everything shifted. Knifehead. Originally, it destroyed Gipsy, killed Yancy Becket by attacking the conn pod, and knocked Raleigh Becket out of service for five years. We lost my uncle a month later followed by the Gages.”

“That didn’t happen this time,” came from a third Marshal. “How was this possible?”

Dr. Lightcap pulled up several scans. “Chuck Hansen is probably the only person who could have pulled this off. He drifted at such an early age that his brain could accept a theta wave transfer without damage or rejection.”

“And I was already in a place where I could attempt a change, but it was up to Yancy and Raleigh to listen to me. They did,” Chuck added. “But I wrote that anonymous report that got sent around about kaiju changing tactics. They targeted the Beckets and avoided Romeo Blue. We also started using multiple jaegers instead of the one-on-one tactics we started with.”

“And this?” Stacker asked pointing to the schematics of Chuck’s Mark VI.

Sighing, Chuck shrugged. “I’m a jaeger nerd. I have all kinds of ideas for a jaeger if I had infinite funding.”

Several of the Marshals looked at each other and then at the monitors. “Ranger Hansen, how do we close the breach?”

“I’m still figuring it out. Marshal Pentecost wasn’t sure then either, and for the record, he was the last Marshal standing at the end.” Chuck cleared his throat. “Dr. Gottlieb figured out the kaiju cycle of attacks and Newt Gieszler drifted with a kaiju brain! And the Anteverse knew it. The kaiju are far smarter than we thought.

“I’ve been focused on keeping our numbers up and jaegers in good condition. The detection equipment picks up a different vibration when one emerges. Talk to K-Science about that and if it’s a key.”

Marshal Donovan stood up. “You should be suspended for your actions, Hansen!”

Chuck finally lost his temper and stood up too. “Who was going to believe a fourteen-year-old? Dr. Lightcap saw the scans and still wasn’t sure! Its only because Raleigh and Yancy saw the truth of what I told them, AS IT WAS HAPPENING, that they believed me and survived!

“I bet you were one of the lot that thought surrender was better that fighting, bloody arse…”

Chuck got pulled back into his seat by Scott and Herc clamped a hand over his son’s mouth. “Quiet boy,” his dad whispered into his ear.

Standing up in one conference rooms was Sasha Kaidonovsky. She yelled, “Ve vil not fight if Baby Hansen is harmed!”

The Gages and Beckets followed and soon there was a Ranger revolt on the PPDC’s hands.

Scott stood up. “Mate, your resignation is required right NOW!”

Marshal Donovan stood up and removed his uniform name tag. “It is given.” He walked out of the door, but no one followed.

“Mr. Hansen, I do think its best if you are reassigned to make sure we can effectively hit the breach. If Striker is needed then you can pilot, but we have twelve active jaegers,” said Stacker. “That is thanks to you. But I know Engineering wants to pick your brain about this design and potential upgrades to some of the older jaegers.”

“Only if the kid wants to Marshal,” said Scott. “I think he’s earned the right to call his own shot at this point.”

Chuck looked at his dad and saw the nod. “Dad needs to be named a Deputy Marshal and an emergency pilot. We’ll do drift sims and take Striker out as needed, but she needs an upgrade for her missiles. Six months downtime as it is.”

Several Marshals nodded. “Engineering and Science please start with Mr. Hansen at once. If we can win this war, I’d like it over sooner than later,” came from Commanding Marshal Davies.

The days ran together sometimes. Striker had been deployed once since it got upgraded. Though that was once in the last two months, still Chuck missed being in a conn pod. His dad enjoyed being active, but also moving over into Command. Chuck however was deep inside the Lucky Seven as he all but hollowed her out to create a Mark V hybrid with her frame.

There was banging on the frame that broke through his thoughts.

“CHUCK!”

Popping his head out, he saw the entire Shed gathered around the base of Lucky.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!” they screamed in unison.

Several of the screens shifted to other domes across the PPDC and the well wishes for his eighteenth birthday were sent to him.

He climbed down and shook his head. “All those trashy sites are going to have a field day now that I’m legal, aren’t they?”

Herc was there with Max and a huge birthday cake. Chuck cut and helped hand out pieces. He kept a corner for himself, full of icing. He smiled for pictures and headed to his bunk to start taking calls from across the PPDC.

Raleigh smiled broadly. “Pack! We’re meeting in Mexico City for a four-day vacation.”

Standing at the door were his dad and uncle. “Pack, like the man said,” Scott said. “But first your dad needs a chat.”

Scott stepped out and closed the door. Herc walked over and handed Chuck a small bag. “I’m not blind boy and neither is your uncle. Yancy was been onto Raleigh for a while too.”

Chuck opened the bag and blushed. Two bottles of slick and a huge box of condoms. “Dad?” This was so different. New. But Chuck liked this change too.

“Have fun and be safe. Yance said Raleigh has been on his best behavior for the past several months.” Herc hugged Chuck hard. “You’ve earned this little vacation and don’t deny Raleigh isn’t the one you want to spend it with. We only drift once a week right now, but you can’t hide that attraction.”

Chuck’s blush got deeper. “Bloody drift telling secrets.” But there was no heat in his words. He actually liked his dad and uncle teasing him, to an extent. Felt like they were a family again. It felt good.

“Ask your uncle how many domes have bets on you and Raleigh.” Herc nudged Chuck. “Go pack!” Herc paused and then grinned broadly. “And when your get back PR has a list of magazines and TV shows that want to interview you now that you are an adult.”

Chuck’s face fell. “Bonzer.” One major difference this time was, while not the Golden Days, jaeger pilots were still treated like rock stars. And Chuck had been largely out of the limelight with official photos issues and canned questionnaires given to him to be answered in writing. “Are we sure I need to come back?”

Arriving in Mexico City, Chuck wasn’t sure what to expect. It was the middle of summer, but surprisingly pleasant. He couldn’t stop his smile as Raleigh was waiting for him in the military lounge.

“Hello, sailor!” Raleigh drawled. He walked over and grabbed Chuck’s duffle even though he had his own. “PPDC has a car waiting to get us to the hotel.”

It didn’t take log to get them to their hotel in downtown. The city was so green and vibrant. Chuck grinned as they walked into the hotel. Raleigh checked them and they went to their room.

It was a spacious room that was filled with light. Chuck paused for a second and saw the king-sized bed. He faltered for a moment because he’d never been near one. The best he’d come close to was the full sized one he rated in Seattle.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Raleigh whispered in his ear.

Faltering for a second, but shaking his head. “No, no I don’t. Just, never had much room to spread out, ya?” Chuck relaxed into the cuddle Raleigh was giving him.

They looked around the suite they were given and Chuck’s mouth dropped open at the bathroom. A tub was separate from the rainforest shower that was clearly big enough for two. “Wow.” He never experienced anything like this ever.

“Shower?” Raleigh already had his shirt off and had a wicked grin on his face.

Chuck took a deep breath and returned the smile. This Raleigh, here and now, was who should always have existed. Bright, cheerful, and playful. Chuck knew Knifehead still changed him, but it didn’t destroy him like it did last time. “Please.”

It was weird, showering with another person that wasn’t in the Drive locker room. This was intimate and personal. “You’re beautiful,” Chuck hazarded to say as he took in a very naked and erect Raleigh.

“No so bad yourself, princess,” Rals whispered as he caressed Chuck’s cheek. He looked down and took in Chuck’s muscular form and also dripping erection. He dropped to his knees and wet the water pour over both of them. He started licking Chuck’s cock while looking up through wet eyelashes. “Let me take care of you.”

The younger Ranger had no objections. “Fuck! Ray, I’m gunna…” he didn’t last more than a minute before he started shooting off as only an eighteen-year-old could.

“You lasted longer than my first time,” Raleigh joked as he got off his knees and started showering. “Yancy was in the other room screwing some girl he met in high school while her younger sister was fishing for it in my pants. I jizzed in my jeans.”

Chuck kissed him while trying not to laugh. He got the point though. He dropped to his knees and returned the favor. His imagination failed to live up to the reality of sucking this cock.

They kissed under the falling water. The stomach rumbles coming from Chuck made Raleigh laugh. “I think we need to get you fed before we do anything else. The Tunari and Gages told me all the great places to visit while we are here.”

“Sounds great to me, mate. As long as that big bed gets a proper workout before our little vacation ends.”

Being legal in Australia was different from being legal in the States. That annoyed Chuck to no end. He really wanted a beer after his latest row with K-Science. They could open the breach but they needed a damned kaiju to do it. They weren’t sure if it had to be alive or dead, but they thought partially alive would work best with the signal they discovered.

“How the bloody hell are you going to get a partially dead kaiju to the breach?” Chuck ranted to his dad from across the ocean. “Dad, these scientists are bonkers! We can barely keep the jaegers ahead of the kaiju learning curve and they want us to try to capture one!!!”

Herc tried to hide his smile. It had been a while seen he’d seen Chuck up in arms about anything. Now the boy had come back from Mexico City with a broad smile, a slight limp he wouldn’t explain but blushed thinking about, and so many bite marks Herc wanted to yell at Raleigh for the principle of the matter alone.

“Son, they’ve never fought a kaiju and think its easy,” Herc tried to remind his son. “They don’t know and will never know. And it’s like explaining something that can’t be done either. Drifting, they don’t even understand the handshake.”

Chuck nodded and sighed. “I finally to Gottlieb to recreate his formula. Dad, the rate of attacks have accelerated. It was January of 2025 the first time. They don’t know what it will be but my gut says December 2023 the way it looks.”

Herc nodded. “Come home, son. They are driving you crazy and we miss you here.”

That got a scoff out of Chuck. “Oi, sure they all do. I know I’m a bossy bastard now that I’m building instead of driving all the time.” He looked behind him. “Have to go, talk to you tomorrow.”

He killed the call and went to open the door since he heard knocking. Opening it, he grinned when he saw Yancy and Raleigh. “What are you doing here, mates?”

Yancy pulled out a case of shitty beer from behind his back. “Geiszler of all people said you needed support and well, we’re two hours away by jumphawk. Helps to know who runs all the logistics across the Rim.”

That got a full laugh out of Chuck. He opened the door and let them in. He was going to kill his uncle one of these days, but not today for sure. “Come in.”

It was the rare day that Chuck felt like a normal teenager, but this was one. “Bloody good timing, K-Science is on my last nerve.”

Yancy grinned as he dropped down next to Chuck. “Scott figured you’d need a friendly face. He sent me, not sure why he wanted Raleigh here though,” Yancy teased.

Giving Yancy a light elbow, Chuck looked over at Raleigh through a blush. “Well, he is kind of my boyfriend.”

Raleigh moved over and pulled Chuck into a headlock slash hug. “Kind of?”

“Fine! You’re my drongo seppo boyfriend. Who wins the bet?” Chuck caved and asked.

Pulling out his phone, Yancy sent a text to Tendo. He waited a moment and grinned. “It appears that your friend, Mako, won.”

“The one person I can’t yell at for betting on this,” sighed Chuck. “Figures.”

He and his dad were in Striker for the last time he hoped. “Ten minutes until our drop site,” Chuck said as he looked over all the information. “LOCCENT, how many are circling the breach?”

“We scan four with all readings pointing towards a fifth one possibly emerging,” came from Tendo, running overall Operations.

Twelve jaegers were tasked to attack the breach as one. Four, three jaeger teams were on the way supported by two US Navy battle groups.

Chuck gave his dad a mental hug. “I hope we got this right.” They were headed to the end fight. He opened comms to the whole fighting force. “First one out has to buy the first round for the rest of us.”

“You still aren’t legal in the States, mate,” drawled one of the Gages is a bad fake Aussie accent.

“Once we win, I doubt anyone is going to tell any of us they can’t have a drink,” came from Mako’s determined voice.

“Team One is a go!”

“Team Two is a go!”

“Team Three is a go!”

“Team Four is a go!”

Chuck braced for impact in the ocean surface. “Moving into submersion mode.”

“Repeat, this is LOCCENT Taipei, we are registering four Cat IV kaiju, Leatherback and Otachi we know what to expect. Raiju and Scunner are unknowns. Crimson Typhoon and Tacit Ronin, you are to disable Leatherback. All other jaegers, proceed on mission.”

Herc hit the comms, “This is Herc I’m assuming tactical command. All jaegers move towards the breach. And take out any kaiju in the way.”

“This is Romeo Blue, we see Scunner, Vulcan, we’d appreciate a hand.”

“Moving to engage with Romeo.”

Across the planet, every news outlet was broadcasting the comms from the PPDC directly. People were gathered in large public places watching on huge screens waiting and hoping for good news.

“This is Shaolin Rogue, we have Otachi, Cherno is with us.”

Chuck helped Herc move Striker along the sea floor heading to the breach. “That’s three kaiju that have been engaged.”

“We see Raiju, Lucky and Echo Saber have this one.”

“This is LOCCENT we are tracking a new kaiju emerging from the breach. Slattern, um, this is a Cat V.”

Raleigh and Yancy were right there as it came out. “LOCCENT this is Gipsy, this is like four kaiju in one.”

Hydra, Nova, and Striker moved to join Gipsy in the attack on Slattern.

“Leatherback is down, but Ronin is damaged. Escape pods have been jettisoned.”

Displays across the planet noted that a jaeger was reported down. People started worrying as the cross chatter grew more confusing.

“Echo is down, repeat Echo is down. Raiju is still kicking, requesting assistance.”

“Typhoon move to help Lucky finish off Raiju,” Herc yelled. “Nova and Hydra, attack when in range!”

He already knew that Gipsy engaged the massive Slattern. Striker fired two of her modified missiles to hit the kaiju with full force. They needed to keep the massive monster centered over the breach. The four jaegers tasked for this fight fully engaged the Cat V kaiju.

Chuck rocked back as Striker took the brunt of a hit from Slattern. “I don’t like this at all, dad.”

All the jaegers were in position. Mako’s voice came across the comms. “All over kaiju had been killed. Remaining jaegers are in support position.”

“Deploy the quad weapon system!” Herc yelled over the comms as Striker’s systems kept giving them unnecessary information. Four jaegers fired a new weapon that linked up and attached itself to the massive kaiju. Nano fibers buried themselves into the flesh of the monster. A signal pulse went out and electrifying the net, shocking the kaiju into a limp state.

“The breach is still open.” Gipsy jumped and used its sword to cut a huge gash into the head. Yancy could see the breach and all the weird displacement those fields created. “Let’s end this!”

Nova and Hydra fired twin bladed weapons that also cut deep into the monster.

“It is falling back in, deploying the nuke.” Herc launched the package. “All jaegers move!”

Striker dropped its ballast and began its return to the surface.

“All jaegers, this is LOCCENT Taipei, the breach is closed.

“Repeat the BREACH IS CLOSED!”

Across the planet cheers and celebrations started as word spread. The immediate threat was over and the jaegers did it. Humanity celebrated as one.

Seven jaegers survived the assault with all pilots from the twelve that attacked, accounted for. The breach was closed and Chuck stood looking to the east from the Taipei Dome. All jaegers were recovered to this site and would be sent back to their homes in a day or so.

Scott was there waiting for them along with a few other officials, including Stacker Pentecost. Chuck had no idea when Yancy walked up to Scott and kissed him senseless. All Herc said as he hugged Chuck was, “Neither one ever forgot Manila.” Chuck accepted it as one of the very good things in this timeline too.

That’s when Stacker walked over and hugged Herc. “Our kids know, Mako told me a few months ago.”

“Chuck is unnecessarily smug sometimes when I talk to you,” Herc said as he openly kissed Stacker. He grinned at his son who was smirking but nodding at the same time.

Moving closer to the edge of the platform, Chuck took a deep breath. This was the day he fought so hard to get to.

As the pilots came out and congratulating each other Raleigh noticed his boy off by himself. In the years since he met the ‘too mature for his own good’ kid, Raleigh had become adept at reading Chuck. He never expected to fall for Chuck, but he did and pretty much the whole PPDC knew it. Most importantly, Chuck knew it.

“Looks like you have a lot on your mind,” Raleigh said as he hugged Chuck from behind. He turned around the younger man and kissed him, pulling him into a tight embrace as he did. He had many plans for Chuck. A very long vacation, but first a very Merry Christmas for the first time in years.

Letting the kiss break, Chuck nodded, he walked towards the bay where all the Rangers were gathered. He cleared his throat. “I have a confession to make,” he said. Every Ranger there got quiet.

Sasha nodded, “Speak baby Hansen.”

His throat didn’t want to work. “I started this project with one true objective in mind. I wanted to save my mum.” He could barely look up at his fellow Rangers. “But it’s a paradox. It could never happen. I did what I could and saved you all.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” Sasha said as she walked over. “No apologiez needed.” She hugged him as hard as she could. “Mothers come first, little one. Nothing to forgive.”

One by one the Rangers came to hug their youngest member. Still at nineteen he was their youngest. Yancy stood in front of Chuck and smiled sadly. “That’s the guilt you carry? Little brother, I wish you’d said something. No one thinks less of you for wanting your mother to live. That’s natural. You were ten. We’d all do the same in your place.”

Raleigh simply hugged Chuck and guided him to the party that was in full swing in a different bay. He didn’t think he could love his prickly roo any more than he already did, but he was wrong.

“She’d be proud you know,” Herc said as he walked next to his son. “So proud of what you’ve done, who you helped, who you saved. Never think less of yourself, son.”

Chuck nodded and thought about the terrible moment he realized she was lost to him, but he did what he could to honor her. “This was for you mum.”

He took a deep breath and joined the party. There was everything in the world to live for this time around.

Notes:

Still on a Chuck kick. This had weird science, but the idea of Angela's death being the fixed point for Chuck is something I can't get past.

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