Disclaimer: I don't own anybody but the mechanic girl. If you're interested in knowing, this story would, in theory, take place between Abridged and Sam part 1. Now, read like a good little reader and enjoy.
"Let go of me!"
The morning started off horridly for Mechanic Corona Tantalus. Officer Sky Tate had the young woman in handcuffs, her parcel for Commander Cruger being carried firmly in his free hand, and he was marching her in to the Control Center.
The mechanic was in the top in her field and she was incredibly versatile and useful when working with Boom and Kat Manx on developing weapons and gear for B Squad. She feared the day she would cross paths with Sky, B Squad's Blue Ranger, and she expected his current reaction to her existence. In fact, she expected him to be even more merciless than he was actually being.
"This is ridiculous, Schuyler!" Corona shouted. "I haven't done anything! I work here now, do you understand?"
"Commander Cruger will take care of you, and I'll see to it that you stay behind bars…for good!" Sky replied as he viciously tugged on Corona's arm. He yanked on her so hard, that she fell to the ground and knocked her hair off, letting her short-cut mud-shaded hair flop about. Sky then picked her up, barely giving Corona a chance to put her hat back on. "Keep up the pace!" He shouted. As they approached the Command Center, Sky seemed to beam with pride.
"Commander, I found an intruder marching around the hallways with this package in hand." Sky reported with a grin. Corona flashed a vicious look so cold that her light blue eyes appeared to turn into giant ice blocks.
"Officer Tate, Mechanic Tantalus has been released from her four-year sentence of supervised SPD work for the last six months."
"Yeah, Schuyler, Commander Cruger's ordering you to let go of me, so do it or you'll be moping floors with me next week." Corona taunted.
Sky, trying to ignore Corona's comment, continued on with his conversation with his commanding officer. "Then why is she still here?"
"She requested to continue her work here, and Dr. Manx has hired her as an assistant mechanic for the B Squad Weapons Development Department."
"She sent me here to install things to the viewing computer's module because she's busy. Let me go." Corona spat out.
"You are to address me properly, as you are a subordinate." Sky shot back through clenched teeth. His temper, while usually non-existent, was swiftly coming to a head.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Jack asked as Syd, Bridge, and Z followed her in. "We saw Sky dragging this woman in here…"
"Officer Tate, is this true? Are you physically assaulting an SPD employee?"
"While threatening me as well, saying that you would confine me 'for good', as he put it, Commander Sir." Corona replied.
"Let her go, Tate." Sky responded by forcefully dropping her. He then aggressively unlocked the handcuffs, releasing her and allowing her to stand up. She promptly got to her feet and stood at attention. "I shall speak with you later. Now, Mechanic Tantalus, please clarify the reason why you are not at your station working."
"Commander Sir, I was sent here by Dr. Manx to install this extra speed drives into the Command Control viewing computer to free up some space, but I'm not familiar with this area of SPD, so I got lost. Thanks to…Officer Tate…here, I now know how to get here while being manhandled." She rubbed her wrists vigorously, trying to get them to stop burning and aching. "Now, how do I get into this module?"
"Oh, I can help!" Bridge said, raising his hand.
"Would you be so kind as to do so?" Corona asked.
"It's right down there." Bridge pointed out.
Corona smiled and bent down to open up the door guarding the computer's delicate wiring. She removed her left glove and took a deep breath. Her hand began to glow a dull crimson shade, which grew steadily brighter as she moved her hand about. She gently placed her finger against the lock, and swiped it across the top of the ID Card Scanner module. It unlocked and flung open. Corona smiled, then put her glove back on. She quickly stuck the various jump drives into their respective outlets, then shut the panel door. "There, all installed. Things should move along nice and smoothly. Have a nice day, Commander Cruger." She saluted Commander Cruger, then turned to B Squad. "and a good day to you all, B Squad. Even you, Schuyler." She then saluted the team and then quickly headed for the exit.
"The rest of you are dismissed. Officer Tate, remain here. I have much to speak to you about."
"Yes, sir." Sky obviously didn't like the sound of the request. His voice sounded as if he were either about to scream or cry, both of which the rest of B Squad cared to watch.
The remaining members of B Squad walked back to the B Squad Commons Room, where they began to find themselves always being when not sleeping or on a mission.
"Has anybody ever seen that girl before?" Bridge asked the group.
"No, can't say I have." Z replied.
"If I had seen her before, I wouldn't have forgotten her. She's very eye-catching, if you know what I mean." Jack replied. Unfortunately, they got Jack's point.
"Well, if I had crossed paths with her before, I would've looked onwards. I'm not one to look at mechanics and other types of workers. Their uniforms are atrocious," Syd added. Bridge figured that her vain nature would cause her to ignore most other people. "however…she does look familiar. I've seen her before, no doubt. It must have been outside of SPD, though." They turned the corner and spotted her on the other side of the hallway, running toward the Lab.
"Yeah, I thought that I've seen her before too," Z chirped in. "I've seen her face somewhere too, but I just can't figure out where I've seen it before."
"I have a feeling that we were supposed to meet her, guys," Bridge said as they approached the room. "you know, like it was destiny."
"Oh please, Bridge. You're looking way into something that doesn't need to be looked into." Jack said as he darted straight for the couch.
"But it doesn't make sense to me as to why Kat would send a mechanic in to do her job." Bridge sat with his legs crisscrossed on the ground.
"Why does that seem odd to you?" Syd asked as she picked up a paintbrush and began to idly paint on the clean canvas sitting on the easel.
"Well, usually Kat comes in to do work on consoles and modules and all that stuff."
"Well, maybe she's busy today." Syd replied.
"Well, there was something else. The mechanic's hand glowed. And she unlocked the panel door without a card. She used her finger, and she merely ran it across the top of the ID Card Scanner."
"Only you would notice something obscure like that, Bridge." Jack joked.
"So what? So she's got a special ability. No big deal." Syd commented.
"Well, it is a big deal. Not everybody has the abilities we have, Syd. In fact, she's the first person besides anybody in our squad that I've heard of with special abilities." Z replied.
"Maybe she's a humanoid alien." Jack speculated.
"Highly unlikely, but I could check that out if I get the chance." Bridge then got up. "I'm going to go do some exercising. Anybody wanna join me?"
"Nah, I wanna paint." Syd replied.
"I'm gonna sit here and wait to find out what Sky's gotta be doing for the next six months after what he did to the mechanic girl." Jack replied with a smile.
"I'll go." Z said as she got up out of her chair.
"Good, let's go." Bridge and Z quickly headed for the appropriate locker rooms as they got ready to work out.