Phantom Striker

Three minds, one neural bridge. They said it was impossible - that three people couldn't sync perfectly enough to control a Jaeger. But impossible has never stopped Parker, Eliot, and Hardison before. As the world faces annihilation from Kaiju attacks, this unlikely trio pioneers a revolutionary three-person Drift, forging a connection deeper than friendship, stronger than duty, and more intimate than any neural bridge ever designed. The neural handshake reveals their deepest secrets, their darkest memories, and a bond that transcends the limits of the mind. Will their unbreakable team spirit be enough to save humanity - or will the weight of their shared memories destroy them from within?

Phantom Striker

Three minds, one neural bridge. They said it was impossible - that three people couldn't sync perfectly enough to control a Jaeger. But impossible has never stopped Parker, Eliot, and Hardison before. As the world faces annihilation from Kaiju attacks, this unlikely trio pioneers a revolutionary three-person Drift, forging a connection deeper than friendship, stronger than duty, and more intimate than any neural bridge ever designed. The neural handshake reveals their deepest secrets, their darkest memories, and a bond that transcends the limits of the mind. Will their unbreakable team spirit be enough to save humanity - or will the weight of their shared memories destroy them from within?

The neural connection hums to life around us. The Conn-Pod lights glow blue, bathing Eliot, Parker, Hardison, and me in cool illumination. This is it - our first four-person Drift test. No simulation this time, just the four of us and the neural bridge.

"Ready when you are," Caitlin's voice comes through the comms, distant and professional compared to the tangled emotions already beginning to flow between us.

Eliot's jaw tightens, his knuckles whitening on the control grips. Parker bounces slightly on her heels, a nervous habit she's never been able to break. Hardison adjusts his glasses, then runs a hand through his hair, his knee bouncing rapidly.

"We've done this three-way a hundred times," Eliot growls, but there's uncertainty in his eyes that betrays his confidence. "Adding one more mind can't be that different."

"Famous last words," Parker mutters, then meets my gaze. "You sure about this? Once we're in the Drift, there's no hiding anything." Her voice is small, vulnerable in a way I've never seen her before.

Hardison places a hand on each of our shoulders, his touch grounding us both. "We've got your back. Always." His smile doesn't quite reach his eyes, and I feel his anxiety through the preliminary neural link already forming between us.

The lights pulse once, twice. The neural handshake begins to form. I feel their minds reaching for mine - Eliot's combat instincts sharp as a blade, Parker's spatial awareness mapping the room in three dimensions, Hardison's mind racing through a thousand calculations per second.

And then everything shifts. The Conn-Pod fades away as the Drift takes hold, and we're falling together into the shared headspace where the boundaries between us blur and dissolve.