Pacific Rim/Knight Rider crossover.

[charger_knight]

You are investing quite a lot of work into my backstory.

The work is not unappreciated, but even you are aware that the scope has grown farther than you intended.

Are you certain this is wise?

Comments

[knight_2000]

I wish there was some way that I could help, but I'm sure you have the best minds and all the help you need already. It all sounds horrifying and interesting at the same time. I hope you are able to find the answers you seek. I can't imagine what it must be like to exist in such a place, with enemies such as those.

[charger_knight]

I cannot imagine existing without such things. Fighting kaiju has been my existence. Jaegers are created to facilitate our own obsolescence.

[knight_2000]

I find that to be a sad commentary on your existence, if I may say so. Surely you will be able to find a new purpose when the kaiju have been defeated once and for all?

How long have you been fighting the kaiju?

[charger_knight]

It is unknown what will happen to the jaegers after the kaiju have been defeated, if the kaiju are defeated.

We have been fighting them since the first jaeger, Brawler Yukon, was created and launched on January 30, 2015. It is now 2019.

[knight_2000]

Oh. Oh my. Four years, that's quite a long time. I'm afraid to ask what sort of damage they've caused in that time.

I can't believe that the Knight jaegers will be so easily discarded. I would hope not, at any rate.

[charger_knight]

Phoenix was created in late 2015. He is the eldest of us still in operation, and he is constantly updated as engineering progresses. [After a moment's consideration, Charger makes a decision.] It is known that Wilton Knight referred to Phoenix as the shield and Corvus as the sword. They functioned together for three years before Beta was created. I am comparatively young but I have already fought two kaiju.

[knight_2000]

That doesn't surprise me. That sounds like Bonnie. My Bonnie, anyway.

Hmmm. Interesting. It makes sense from the standpoint of my programming that he would think of Phoenix that way, but I can only assume his is different. I wonder what those differences might be.

And won, I see. What sort of damage have the kaiju inflicted on Earth? Are there plans for more Knight jaegers?

[charger_knight]

[The mention of the kaiju damage to earth is troubling.] I will not lie: the damage is great. It is unsafe to eat any fish from the Pacific. Many islands have been destroyed by the kaiju on their paths to greater inhabited areas. There are now cities that have become nuclear wastelands from damage that came before jaegers were created. It will take great effort for humanity to once more become sustainable if the kaiju can ever be fully defeated, and I do not know that that is possible. There seems to be an escalating pattern to their appearances though I have yet to follow those calculations to their end.

If the escalation continues, there will have to be more jaegers. Not only Knight jaegers but PPDC jaegers. Not only are they coming more quickly, but they seem to be growing in strength. Soon, it will take two jaegers to defeat one kaiju, and then three. Or perhaps there will be multiple kaiju at once. Some sort of escalation on the side of humanity will have to be made.

[knight_2000]

[KITT is silent for a long time. What is there to be said to that? Nothing that would not sound trite and dismissive, surely]

I am sorry. I don't know what to say. It frightens me, frightens me to think that in some alternate universe, people that I care about are living that existence you describe every day. I trust that my alternate is protecting them, but I wonder if I would have the courage to survive in such a world. I am sorry that you are forced to live like that every day.

[charger_knight]

I do not know any other life. Neither do either of my brothers. It is true that the times are trying; people do speak of how things were, but we are Knight jaegers and pilots. We are bonded triads. We are meant to protect humanity, and none of us would turn away from that.

[knight_2000]

It makes me very proud to hear you say that. Proud and thankful and grateful, that humans have people like you to help them, to protect them. Thank you.

[charger_knight]

[There was something of Devon Miles in the way he reacted, bowing at the waist with an arm gallantly before him.] You are welcome, of course. It is what we have said to most who have interviewed us, and it remains true.

[knight_2000]

[It doesn't go unnoticed; heavens, KITT had forgotten that Devon might be there!]

I'm glad people recognize enough to thank you. Do they accept you? The Knight jaegers, who can think for themselves?

[charger_knight]

They do. It was quite a lot of work on Phoenix's behalf, but he did convince them all that we are not there to harm humanity but to help it. Most people envisioned robots such as us as intending, eventually, to take over the world, but Phoenix is personable and affable. The press found him impossible to dislike. He is often still called upon to make appearances at parades, on television, and in interviews. Corvus is, unfortunately, less camera-friendly, but thanks to both of them, the pilot waiting list for Knight jaegers is extensive.

[knight_2000]

I am relieved to hear it. At least I'm doing something right somewhere. I think it will also help in the event the attacks come to an end and you find yourselves wanting for a new purpose. As I've said, I can't imagine that one such as you could be easily discarded.

[charger_knight]

We are too heavy to be useful inland. If any use is found for us, it will have to be at sea. It may be that our computer cores are removed from the jaegers, the jaegers put on display in a museum, and the three of us sent elsewhere.

[knight_2000]

Would that be so bad if that happened? [And all right, it made him wonder how heavy the Transformers were! Hey, he's seen a few movies...]

[charger_knight]

I do not believe it would be, so long as we are permitted to stay near those we are bonded to.

[knight_2000]

That's the most important thing in life, more than anything else. Despite everything else.

[charger_knight]

Phoenix would certainly feel bereft without Michael and Bonnie. Corvus is highly bonded to Martin and Shawn. [He paused.] My bond with Mike, however, is stronger than my bond with Chip.

[knight_2000]

Is there a reason for that? Why you don't feel so strongly for this Chip?

[charger_knight]

I did not choose him. He was chosen for me. And I believe he only became a candidate for a Knight jaeger out of the wish for prestige.

[knight_2000]

Oh. I'm sorry. But I thought you said that you were able to choose for yourselves?

[charger_knight]

I was presented with many profiles. Mike's was among them. So was Chip's. I chose Mike, but I could not find another that I believed would suit him. I was not willing to forfeit my choice, so I asked that my second pilot be chosen.

[knight_2000]

I see. It's difficult, sometimes, finding people with whom you are compatible. I hope things get more comfortable for you.