Soaring Eagle
Her boots had barely touched the pavement before she knew something was wrong. The tarmac was too quiet, filled only by the clang of maintenance and the roar of flybys like her own. She let go of the ladder and scanned the area quickly, wondering what could account for the absence of shouts and enthusiastic chatter.
Then she saw them. For a moment, Taylor was sure she was hallucinating. Sun spots in her eyes, maybe; that happened to some pilots. Because there was no way the people she saw standing not twenty feet away could be there.
"Taylor!" One called, lifting his chin in acknowledgement.
She relaxed. She was not hallucinating. "That's Lieutenant Earhardt to you!" she shouted jokingly. Tucking her helmet under her elbow, she ducked under the wing of her fighter and made as if to leave.
Glancing over her shoulder she saw that the one male had a bewildered look upon his face. She smiled to herself, turned and ran to her friends and old teammates.
Cole lifted his arms and threw them around her. She playfully pulled away from him, but it was clear he had something to say that he couldn't just yell across the runway at her.
When he and the young woman, Alyssa, turned to lead her off the tarmac, though, she stopped and said, "Hey."
They paused, and she added, "Whatever you have to say, you can say it here. I can't leave base right now. We're going back in the air in less then twenty minutes"
"Stubborn as ever, I see." Cole joked.
She tossed her head, forgetting for a moment that her hair was confined to a braid. She looked around. "How did you guys get in here? This base is usually secure."
Alyssa held up her left hand displaying the growl phone for all to see. "There aren't too many people that will argue with a Wild Force Ranger, let alone two."
Taylor smirked. "That's true."
"Taylor," Cole said urgently, his voice just loud enough to reach her ears. "We need you."
"For what?"
"Our old job." Alyssa said, not moving.
Eyes wide, mouth open, she sighed. "How? Princess Shayla and the zords are sleeping, she has our morphers and our vests…" Cole and Alyssa exchanged a glance. Alyssa held up her hand again, revealing her growl phone morpher. Then she raised her other hand.
Her gaze flicked to her curiously, and her eyes widened. She was holding her growl phone; the etched feathers were instantly recognizable in the sunlight.
"Where did you get that?" she asked, reaching for it. Alyssa opened her hand, the morpher laying flat on her palm.
"The only thing is, you will need to leave the base." Cole told her.
"Cole," she said, torn. "I have a commission and an oath. I can't just leave and you know it."
"Our morphers got us in," he replied. "No reason yours can't get you out."
He was right. The Animarium mission had given her special dispensation with regard to the Rangers. Her daily 1500 flights were condoned only because the eagle made the radar scream... If she said she'd been called back, they would let her go with no questions asked.
She eyed the growl phone in her hand. She wanted it. She wanted that life again. But it was over, and they had all moved on. There was no going back, and she had always known that. She just hadn't known how hard it would be to live it.
"How did you get them?" she asked, lifting her gaze to view her two friends.
"Let's just say... a mutual friend gave it to us."
"Why?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.. "What's going on?"
"Come with us and we will explain everything." Alyssa said.
She held out her hand with a sigh. "Count me in."
