Disclaimer: Not mine, wish they were. I was meant to upload this yesterday, but I got distracted by Good Omens - seriously, watch it! - Here's the next chapter, please enjoy it. Next chapter will be up next week. Cheers - Angel and Dany.


Shattered Souls - Chapter Three

by MzDany and AngelMouse5

The next morning the tension in the command centre was palpable. Kat was standing next to the Commander's desk, her ever-present computer pad in her hand, as the new commander went over what had happened over the last week, checking on decisions made and the like. His frown just kept getting deeper and deeper. Finally he just threw the last report back onto the desk. The three senior Rangers were standing in front of him, while the other two were out on patrol. He glared at them and then turned to Kat.

"And these... these humans are who Cruger trusted this planet to?" Before Kat could say anything he continued. "No wonder Grumm almost conquered this place. I'm overturning several of these decisions," he made some notes and handed a pad to Venda. "Make sure these people are released immediately. Deported but released, no charges." Bridge opened his mouth but Tarns held up his hand to quiet him down while he continued to speak to his lieutenant. "Also, once that's done, I want an audit of all current and ongoing investigations. I want you to make sure that they are all within the spirit of the law and if you have any that you think aren't, bring them to my attention immediately. You know what to look for."

"Yes sir." Venda took the list and nodded at him. Tarns then looked at Bridge.

"And as for your Zord battle reports -" The Commander picked up a separate datapad and scowled first at the screen, then at the B-Squad members. "The property damages resulting from your inner-city battles and all of your missed shots are astronomical! Don't you know any better than to engage an enemy that's larger than a skyscraper within NewTech City's city limits?" he tore into them. Bridge raised his hand.

"Sir, just about all of the shots that go wide come from the monsters we fight," he tried to explain. "We keep our shots centered and targeted on the enemy Zords."

"Do you now?" Tarns growled and leveled a malicious stare at the Red Ranger. "Or is this just what you want me to read?" Bridge blinked, speechless for a moment at the commander's implication.

"We do not falsify our reports!" Bridge's tone of voice showed the first sign of life since the accident. Yet, even then, it was still subdued.

"Well, I'm going to have my staff look into this nevertheless. But until this matter is cleared up…" The Tangarian took a few steps forward. "Red Ranger. You are hereby ordered to hand over the Delta Squad Megazord Control to Lt. Venda here. He and my other aides will now be piloting it as looking at these reports and your records, I can't trust your team to pilot such a powerful piece of equipment. You will still keep your existing vehicles, but you won't be doing any more in the Megazord until I can be assured you won't do any further damage with it." Bridge stared at him in amazement.

"Sir, our existing vehicles are all part of the Megazord, so if I hand the controls over, we have to hand those over as well. How will we do our jobs as Rangers if we can't use our vehicles as they were intended to?" Bridge's tone of voice was genuinely curious, he hadn't picked up yet like Z and Syd had, that this guy didn't think much of them. Tams puffed out his chest, towering over them all.

"Are you questioning my orders, Red Ranger? Because I can easily order you to hand over your morphers as well. The only reason I am not at this stage is because until my team is up to speed on Earth locations, criminal activity and have learnt the area, you will be needed. For your back-chatting today, you're suspended for three days, no pay. I don't want to see your face for the next three days. Is that understood?" Bridge stared at him, shock on his face. Z went to open her mouth but was stopped by a tiny head shake from Kat, who was standing off to one side behind Tarns. Finally Bridge took a deep breath.

"Aye sir. I will keep my morpher on me at all times, just in case. If that's alright with you, sir?" Bridge' tone had turned hard, as had his face.

"That's acceptable. Ranger Delvado, you're in command of the squad until Ranger Carton returns, understood?" Z nodded, deliberately not correcting her superior officer on the mispronunciation of their names. It would only make the situation worse.

"Understood sir." Bridge saluted and turned on his heel, his face completely blank as he left the room. Once the door closed behind him, Tarns sat back down, shaking his head. He looked at Kat.

"That airhead is the Red Ranger? Cruger have a mental lapse or something?" Kat opened her mouth but Tarns shook his head. "Don't answer. Venda, get on that list straight away."

"Sir." Sky was literally seething with anger but kept it under control as he saluted. He wanted nothing more than to chase after Bridge but had to keep his cover up. Tarns turned to Syd and Z.

"You two. Go supervise some first year cadets or patrol the city. I don't want to see you either for the rest of the day. When the other two get back, they can join you. You may continue to use your Delta Cycles and the SPD Patrol Jeep. Dismissed." The girls both saluted and left quickly. Once they were gone he shook his head and looked at Kat again. "How do you stand being around those idiots all the time, Doctor?" Kat swallowed her anger and spoke softly as she checked her paperwork.

"They have their uses, sir. If you are happy with my department, I shall get back to my work as well." Tams nodded.

"Understood. Oh, and before I forget: your assistant, that walking disaster area - Bam or something his name is,"

"Boom, yes. He's been with me for years and has contributed greatly with some of my work. Why do you ask sir?" Tarns snorted.

"Get rid of him. He's a liability according to all the reports I've read. No human can be that helpful, especially with some of the work I have for you to start." Kat was stunned.

"Sir, I can't do that, he's been with me for years!" Tarns slowly turned to her and frowned, his expression hard.

"You will do it. And you will do it today. I have Top Secret plans for you to enact and I don't want any humans to work on it. Either you do it now, or I'll get Sgt Nian and Sgt Kinkle to physically remove him myself." Kat swallowed hard.

"I will take care of it, sir." She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she had to keep up the charade. "What plans do you speak of? I wasn't aware of anything new coming from headquarters." His smile turned slightly vicious and mysterious.

"Tomorrow, once the changes are made. Now, I have some more to take care of. Dismissed." Kat nodded and turned to leave. "Doctor,"

"Sir?" Kat turned, her pad held against her chest like she always did and the Commander frowned.

"It's customary to salute your superiors when you are dismissed." Kat swallowed hard and then nodded.

"Yes sir. Commander Tate didn't require such formality, I'm sorry, I forgot."

"I'm not Tate. In fact, the sooner you all realise that, the better." Kat nodded and gave him a text-book salute, to which he nodded and she left. She made her way to her lab and closing the door to her office, she was hard-pressed to not slam the computer pad onto her desk. Under her breath she muttered quite a few swear words in her native language. This was going worse than both she and Cruger thought. Taking a deep breath, she messaged Boom to come and see her.

Once the Rangers and Dr. Manx had left the command center, Tarns let out a noisy breath, reached underneath the command desk and pulled out his flask. He took a big swig of the booze, then gestured towards Sky with the container. "Venda, I think it's time for a strategy meeting. Go get the others."

"Yes, sir."

A little while later the two Debonians, Nian and Kinkle, the two Praxians, Tetcho and Albar, as well as Sky aka Venda, were assembled around Laver Tarns in the SPD Command Center. Tarns ordered all other SPD personnel out of the room and told Sky to lock the door before he turned to his subordinates.

"All right, everyone. I know we've only been here a few days, but it looks as though we can speed up the timeframe of The Plan a bit." Tarns proceeded to fill in the Debonians and Praxians on what had transpired between him and the Rangers a little while earlier. "I let them keep their morphers and their patrol vehicles, but as far as Megazord access - I'm going to have Dr. Manx transfer Zord access privileges from B-Squad's morphers to A-Squad's morphers as soon as possible." At that, he turned to Sky, pointing at the datapad containing the Zord battle records. "Venda, it's your job to find the necessary inconsistencies in those reports so I can revoke the Rangers' Zord privileges."

Sky couldn't help but frown. He knew these reports by heart, there were no such inconsistencies. "Sir, what if I can't find any indications that the reports were falsified?"

"Then you help it along!" Tarns snapped. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Do what you have to do in order for me to justify invalidating their Megazord access."

Sky almost smiled; Tarns all but did spell it out for him. He wanted Sky to tamper with the reports. And Sky's forehead gem had recorded the entire exchange. More fuel for the fire.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Moving on to the next item…" Tarns pulled a datapad from a roomy pocket of his uniform coat and made a few notes on it. Sky had seen him with this tablet many times since he assumed Venda's identity. It seemed to travel with the Tangarian wherever he went, so it was more than an educated guess that this pad contained invaluable information, and with all the notes Tarns was sure to add during today's meeting it was quickly becoming the most precious piece of evidence in Sky's investigation.

He needed to get his hands on that datapad.

The next few minutes were spent on topics such as which Earth SPD officers might be sympathetic to their cause and could be approached about joining their operation and if they didn't want to be involved, who was happy to turn the other way for a small 'fee',and those that didn't want to do either, well, there were plenty of dead-end positions in other areas of the organisation or off-world positions that they could be sent to.

Sky kept his verbal contributions to the meeting to a minimum, since many of the topics that were being discussed had obviously been planned before he was able to infiltrate the group. He made sure that the recording device hidden in the gem in his forehead remained active, though. What was being recorded right now was invaluable evidence for later.

"So, as I was saying…" Tarns looked at his entourage. "Once the A-Squad morphers are activated, I want all of you to begin pilot training on the Delta Squad Megazord. It shouldn't take you more than a day to get proficient in how to operate it."

"Sir…" Nian spoke up. "That's a pretty complicated machine. We'll have to familiarize ourselves with the Delta Runners first, then learn how to combine, then figure out how to work the controls once in Zord mode. I don't think we can do all that in one day."

Tarns rounded on his subordinate and poked a finger into his chest. "Those five incompetent humans did it in one day!" he growled. "So I'm expecting nothing less from you. All of you! Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" five voices cried in unison.

"Good, because as soon as you have mastered the Delta Squad Megazord, we'll move on to the Delta Command Megazord. You need to be able to control both Zords for our plan to work."

"Uhm, Commander…" Albar the Praxian piped up hesitantly. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Delta Command Megazord piloted by the Shadow Ranger?"

Tarns looked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, and Sky let out an inconspicuous breath of relief that his Shadow morpher was safely hidden in a vault in Kat's office.

"I don't know, I can't be bothered to keep track of every single detail of Zord operations!" he snapped, then turned to Sky. "Venda! Do we need the Shadow morpher to operate the Delta Command Megazord?"

"I don't know, sir." Sky shrugged. There is no way you are getting your filthy hands on my morpher!

"Never mind, then. I will check with Manx about this." Tarns looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Ah, and another thing: You all remember when I told you at our last meeting before we shipped out for Earth that I was planning on getting my cousin Giganus released from prison. Well, I started the expedited paperwork for his release today and have been in contact with him. He is more than happy to join our operation. His knowledge of SPD Earth military operations will be most useful." Laver Tarns smirked in response to his underlings' cheers, and through his rictus grin Sky felt like he was going to be sick.

It took every ounce of acting skill Sky had to smile and chuckle along with the others. Inside, however, he was reeling with this new information. Giganus, of all people!

Sky knew Giganus by his alias of Dru Hammond - his old friend and fellow SPD cadet, who turned out to be a Tangarian traitor. It was Sky who had arrested Dru for the attempted murder of Doggie Cruger, and these charges were too severe to get him released by anyone other than the highest-ranking SPD commanding officer. A rank Laver Tarns had finally achieved.

If Tarns actually succeeded in getting Dru released, the consequences would be catastrophic! With Sky officially dead now, Dru would certainly exact his revenge for his imprisonment upon the rest of the B-Squad Rangers. There was no way Sky could let that happen!

"If everything goes right, he should be released by…" Tarns once again consulted his datapad. "…the beginning of next week."

Tarns stood up and rubbed his hands together. "Well, all this good news has gotten my appetite up. I think I'll head to the cafeteria for lunch," he announced. "Who wants to join me?"

His four lackeys eagerly accepted the invitation. Sky politely declined, citing the urgency of getting to work on the Zord battle reports. Tarns and his entourage headed towards the door. At the threshold, though, he turned.

"Oh, and one last thing, Venda."

"Sir?"

"Some crates were delivered for me from Galactic Headquarters this morning. They are in the Receiving Bay right now. Have them delivered to the command center and the contents assembled right away." Tarns cast a look back at the alcove where the SPD Commander's desk stood, and he smiled. "It's time to redecorate this place to my specifications."

"Yes, sir," Sky replied eagerly. "I'll take care of it right away." This was Sky's chance! As soon as Commander Tarns walked out the door, Sky went to his computer station and called up Kat Manx on a secure line.

"Kat, can we meet in your office right away? We need to talk."

While Tarns and his entourage were in the cafeteria, eating and probably going over more things they could use against the human Rangers and SPD personnel, Sky had used the excuse of going to see Dr Manx about the Shadow morpher.

He arrived in the research labs in his disguise as Lt. Venda and ordered everyone out, as he had to speak to Dr Manx about classified matters. The lab had emptied quickly - obviously Tarns and his crew were gaining a reputation already. Once the lab was empty, Kat quickly made some adjustments to the monitors and they were soon able to speak freely.

"He's after the Shadow morpher, Kat."

"I thought as much. Okay, we know it's secure, so that's the main thing. Anything else?" Sky nodded.

"There's more. Luckily I've got it all recorded and it's already uploaded. I'm not sure what else exactly he's up to, but it's got to involve the Delta MegaZord and more. Also, warn Cruger, he's trying to get Dru released from prison, reckons it'll be done by the end of next week. He needs to delay it, or stop it, or something." Sky took a deep breath, stopping the temptation to run his hand through his fake hair before he spoke again. "I'm getting to the bottom of it, slowly but surely. Kat, Bridge is..." Kat gave him a wan smile.

"I know. I know. I'm monitoring his physical condition carefully." Sky swallowed hard.

"Okay.. let me know... Anyway, I have to get back. Please, take care of him." Sky all but whispered the last bit and turned, leaving quickly before he could say more. Kat quickly changed the monitors back to ensure that the security of Sky's mission was paramount. As he left her and staff filed back in, Kat took a deep breath. This was a dangerous game that they were playing, and Tarns was good at it, they would just have to be better.

Bridge Carson lay on the bed in his room, staring at the ceiling. Bright, airy sunshine filtered through his window; it was as if the world was trying to throw shade at Bridge's pain by having a beautiful summer's day. He thought about drawing the curtains, but that would require getting up, and he simply couldn't muster the energy for that right now.

He was so tired. Sleep had long ceased to be restful and these days he felt exhausted just from existing.

If only the grief would stop, even for a little while. He felt permeated with it, radiating grief and then, because of his empathic powers, picking those same emotions right back up again and channeling them back into him. It was a vicious cycle, and even being around Z and Syd didn't make it any easier. In his heart he knew that his friends and fellow Rangers just wanted to help. He was grateful to them and that's why he didn't tell them that their useless sympathies didn't help.

He looked around the room. The crates didn't help, either. The Red Ranger's room was rather spacious, but with almost a dozen large and bulky containers stacked up against every wall, the room had shrunk down to closet-like proportions.

The crates were also a constant reminder of just how off-track his life had gotten. He really didn't want to be here with nothing to do but to stare at the packed-up remnants of his and Sky's life together, but since the commander had pretty much confined him to quarters for the next three days, he had little choice in the matter.

Commander Tarns.

Bridge blew out a long breath. His mind was still reeling from the meeting at the command center and all the unjustified accusations his new commanding officer had thrown at him. Anger once again threatened to boil up in his chest, but Bridge resolutely squashed down on it. He needed to get a grip on his emotions.

He also needed to give Laver Tarns the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he really didn't know how to deal with humans? The commander was Tangarian, after all, and although Bridge didn't know much about Tangaria, he was pretty sure that their culture was quite different from any of Earth's many cultures. And at Galactic Headquarters Tarns had been surrounded by a multitude of different alien species while here on Earth he was dealing mostly with humans, such as Bridge and his fellow Rangers. Maybe the commander just needed some more time to adjust and realize that cooperation worked a lot better than subjugation. There had to be some kind of common ground that Tarns and the B-Squad could agree on.

Or maybe Laver Tarns might be more agreeable if Bridge spoke to him in private. Bridge rose up onto his elbows, contemplating that thought. After work, away from the command center Tarns might actually listen to him if he laid out his points openly and backed up all his reasonings calmly and respectfully. Then they could work on logical solutions together, talk to each other man to man.

Yes, that could work!

Bridge lay back down, folded his hands over his stomach and began to compose his arguments in his mind, together with suggestions for compromises. He fell asleep halfway through his mental presentation.

Tarns had retired to his quarters after putting things in motion for his ultimate plan for Earth's SPD base and tomorrow he would take it to the next step. The plans for revenge against Earth's rangers for what happened to his cousin were in place and slowly taking place. The first step had been taken, they no longer had access to their Megazord, so that was good.

Taking another drink, he stood by the window and looked out over the city's night sky. It was strangely beautiful, if only it weren't full of stupid, incompetent, scummy humans, it would almost be a great posting. The only reason he had taken this position was that it was perfect for his plans.

His musings were interrupted by the chime of his doorbell and he frowned. His crew knew never to disturb him once he had retired for the evening, on pain of severe punishment. Growling to himself, drink still in hand, he stalked over to the door and opened it, his voice practically growling when he saw who was standing there.

"Carlton! What the hell are you doing here? I told you I didn't want to see you for three days!" Bridge swallowed hard and spoke carefully.

"I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but I felt we could perhaps discuss what happened in the command centre this morning?" Bridge tried to keep talking but Tarns held up his hand, furious at this puny human's impertinence.

"Discuss? My orders are not up for discussion! I was perfectly clear this morning, Red Ranger. Now, for this stupid act of insubordination, you're suspended without pay for a whole week instead of three days, and if you say anything other than yes sir, sorry sir, then your fellow rangers will be jetting to the moon for cleanup of radioactive waste duty, am I clear, Ranger?" Tarns' tone was so hard, so stiff and so angry, Bridge didn't need his powers to feel the hatred and anger emanating from Tarns right now. He swallowed hard, crestfallen that his plan had backfired so badly. He now realized that Tarns would never listen like this. Perhaps he might at the end of the week, but if he was still like this, well then, resignation was his only option.

Tarns loomed over him. "And to make sure I don't see your face for the next seven days…" The commander leaned in until Bridge could smell the alcohol on his breath. "...I'm ordering you off the base, effective immediately! You have twenty minutes to leave, otherwise I'll have a security detail escort you off the premises!"

Bridge was so shocked that all he could mutter was, "Yes sir, Sorry for disturbing you, sir."

He stepped back and the door closed in his face. Once it had closed and locked, Bridge staggered slightly. The hate and anger, he hadn't felt anything like that since Gruumm. Shaking his head to try and get his composure back, Bridge hurried back to his room to pack, messaging Z along the way. Thankfully, he had a place to flee to.

Once Bridge was back at his quarters he changed quickly into civilian clothes. Making sure his morpher was attached to his trousers, he grabbed some money and threw a couple of things into a bag, heading out of his room. Without even really thinking about it, he'd included a couple of pieces of Sky's clothes, just a couple of t-shirts that he liked to sleep in. He was so focussed he didn't notice Z coming up beside him as he walked towards the lift.

"Bridge, are you okay? What happened?" Bridge shook his head, trying not to think too hard but kept walking towards the exit while he gave Z a brief rundown of his encounter with Tarns. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it was an effort.

"That guy, Z, something's seriously off with him." Z nodded in agreement.

"We know. Just take some time and relax, get yourself together and forget about work and this idiot for a while." Bridge glanced at her as they entered the lift, heading down to the main entrance.

"I will try." Bridge's voice wasn't very hopeful.

"Where will you go? Just in case Syd and I want to come see you." Bridge exited the lift, Z still by his side and slowly began walking towards the main entrance.

"Sky and I had just bought an apartment, only one week before he headed off and..." Bridge's voice cracked and Z just squeezed his hand. He shook his head. "I'll send you the address later. I'm going to go there, and just try and.. Well, I don't know." They reached the main doors and Z stopped, looking at him.

"We're just a call away, Bridge. Please call us if you need us. And don't forget to eat." Bridge gave a tiny smile that no way reached his eyes.

"I will. Thanks Z." Z gave him a quick embrace and then was gone, back to work. Bridge looked around and then, shaking his head at the strange turn his life had taken in the last week, he exited the building and headed off into the night.

to be continued...