The following days seemed to crawl by slowly as Tommy and Kira anxiously awaited word from Kat about how she was going to control the children's powers. The only good news was that the twins seemed to be behaving themselves. Kat had figured out that the Ptera Scream was connected mostly to emotional and physiological distress, so they had managed to keep little Frank calm, and that seemed to prevent any further incidents. Kira was still limping slightly from when he'd managed to throw her across the living room of their house.
Tommy on the other hand had seemed to get a sixth sense for when his daughter was about to pull one of her vanishing acts, and found that a sure-fire way to break her concentration and bring her back was a gentle tickle. He was grateful that his daughter was extremely ticklish like Kira, it made the process of stopping her pulling a fade-out so much easier.
As they spent time with their children in the crèche area of the base, they never even noticed a toddler walking into the room, chasing after an errant soccer ball. As it came to rest by Kira's ankle, drawing her attention, she bent down and picked it up, before turning and seeing the little boy standing before her, viewing her nervously.
"It's O.K. I'm not going to hurt you." She said soothingly, bending down to his level, and holding the ball out to him. "Here you go."
The little boy approached her nervously, taking the ball cautiously.
"You're a nervous little thing aren't you?" She asked, surveying the child. "What's your name?"
The little boy just continued to stare at her before tracing a small circle in the air with his hand, causing a bright blue flash as he formed a force field between himself and Kira. Kira recoiled a little, feeling a small, painful sting as she touched the invisible barrier. Just then, a tall, muscular blonde man arrived behind the boy, breaking his concentration and causing the field to dissipate.
"Schuyler, don't run off like that." He reprimanded his son. "And how many times do I have to tell you it's rude to put up force fields when someone's talking to you?" He turned to Kira smiling a little as he hugged his son. "I'm sorry, he can be a little shy and nervous around people he doesn't know."
"Hi I'm Kira." She introduced herself with a handshake, viewing the little boy with a little curiosity. "This is my son Frank." She presented the boy she was cradling in her arm. "And my husband Tommy's just over there with my daughter Emma."
"Twins?" He asked. Kira nodded with a smile. "Wow, and I thought bringing up one kid was tough. Anyway, excuse my rudeness. I'm Harold Tate, but everyone calls me Harry, and this…" He placed a hand on his son's head, ruffling his hair. "Is my son Sky."
"Sky, that's a nice name." Kira commented to Sky. "How'd you come up with that?" She asked Harry.
"Actually Sky came up with it." Harry chuckled as he shared the story. "His real name's Schuyler, but he couldn't pronounce it, and it came out as Sky. After that, the name just kind of stuck."
"Well I think it suits him." Kira mused inspecting the little boy in front of her. "I like it. Uh, I don't mean to pry, but how did he…?"
Harry laughed a little, before interrupting the inevitable question. "He's kind of special. I was involved in some of the early testing of the new morphing technology. It looks like some of the errant radiation from the experiments had some interesting results."
"It would seem so." Kira replied as she suddenly realised how Kat had figured out what to do about the kid's powers so quickly. "So when did he start doing this?"
"He first put up a field when he was six months old." Harry replied. "Kat managed to block his abilities until he was a little older, but now we're just trying to teach him how to use them properly."
"So Kat managed to help you out?" Kira breathed as more of a sigh of relief than as a question. "We have a similar little scenario with our own kids. It's hard enough growing up in this world without all of this to deal with as well."
"Some of the others left when they had their Kids." He remarked. "Personally I find this place suits us for now. It's like you say, it's hard enough for them, I just feel he'll get more acceptance here than anywhere else."
"So you're Harry Tate eh?" Tommy interjected as he crossed the room. "Wes told us you took over as Red Ranger from him."
"Indeed I did." He replied with a smile. "Wes put a lot of faith in me when he gave me his morpher, I just hope I live up to the expectations. There's been quite a few great Red Rangers."
"Well I'm sure you'll do fine." Tommy commented. "Wes and Eric wouldn't have chosen you if they didn't have confidence in you."
"Thanks." He responded. "Your lovely wife here was telling me your kids have special abilities."
Tommy looked at Kira, who just nodded to let him know it was O.K. "We were Rangers too for a while. The powers we had attached extra abilities to our DNA. It seems like our kids have them too. Emma here scared the life out of Kira by turning invisible, and my son Frank can quite literally scream the house down."
"Well Kat really helped out me and the others." Harry reassured them. "If she says she can help, I'd listen to her."
Tommy looked at Kira, a little confused by this statement.
"Harry and some of the others were affected by radiation while they were trying to develop the morphers." Kira repeated the story. "Apparently we're not the only ones with special kids."
"Well at least we know Dr. Manx has dealt with this kind of thing before." Tommy replied.
Kat entered the office of the base Commander, saluting him as she did so. "Sir, I wanted to bring something to your attention." She began. She unwrapped a sheet she was carrying, and removed the Dragon Dagger, placing it on the Commander's desk. "Dr. Tommy Oliver has been keeping this in a safety deposit box for years. He told us that the Dragon Zord is still operational."
"Oliver. Isn't he the one we're helping with his children's genetic abilities?" He asked. Kat nodded to confirm the detail. The Commander picked up the dagger, inspecting it carefully. "It seems to be genuine." He responded with a little surprise in his voice. "Did he tell us where the Zord is?"
"It's in Angel Grove Harbour." Kat answered. "We've already done a scan and can confirm that something matching the Dragon Zord's size and weight is down there."
"Then he has given us a fantastic gift." He responded. "Have a recovery team seal off Angel Grove harbour and retrieve the Zord. He's helped our research a great deal."
"Sir, I can only guess that what we can learn from the Dragonzord." Kat stated as she retrieved the dagger. "But since it is a fully functioning Zord that utilises both terrestrial and extraterrestrial technology, I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it'll advance our research by decades."
"That sounds very encouraging." The Commander mused thoughtfully.
"More than that, he is one of the few people who has operated several different Zords." Kat informed him. "He also supposedly has many former Ranger artefacts. He probably has the most extensive knowledge of Ranger powers on earth." She pulled a little closer to reinforce the next point. "He also has an extensive video archive, detailing all the previous Ranger Teams."
"You're kidding!" The Commander spluttered, unable to contain his enthusiasm as he heard this news. "So if there's anything he doesn't know, we'll be able to track down someone who will."
"That was my thoughts exactly." Kat answered him. "I've nearly made a breakthrough with the power inhibiters for the twins. They'll probably be finished within the next three days. I just thought that if you wanted him to stay, now might be a good idea to put together a sales pitch."
"I'll bear that in mind." He replied. "Thank you for brining this to my attention."
A little later in the day, Kira was taking advantage of one of the few quiet moments in the day and catching up on a little sleep. Tommy had entered their living quarters to find that after the kids had dropped off, Kira had obviously dozed off herself, curled up peacefully in a little ball on her bed. Thinking about it, he realised that she hadn't really been sleeping much since they arrived, it had been a stressful couple of days, so he gently pulled a sheet over her, and quietly left the room. He was a little tired himself, but he figured he'd get the chance for a few hours later on and instead elected to check out the gym facilities.
Arriving in the spacious, well-equipped gym, he looked around for some inspiration. He knew he was much too tired to bother with any kind of heavy workout, then he noticed the way into the pool area. Smiling as he thought of a couple of refreshing laps in the full-length pool, followed by a nice hot shower, he checked his gym bag for some trunks, before heading into the changing area.
Kat approached Eric in the main hangar, returning the gesture as he saluted her.
"I need you to go to Angel Grove with a recovery team." She told him as she presented him with the Dragon Dagger. "We need to get the Dragon Zord here, covertly."
"Covertly?" Wes asked weakly, overhearing the conversation. "You do know those things are over thirty stories tall right?"
"Don't worry." Kat said with a little smile. "These extraction plans will explain everything."
Looking at the document Kat gave them, Wes suddenly felt a little better about the plan.
"So who gets to pilot the Zord?" He asked.
"Since I'm the only one going with a morpher, and therefore the only one that can get inside I guess that would be me." Eric answered him matter-of-factly.
"Oh man, you get to do everything fun since Harry took my morpher." Wes groaned as the made their way to the hangar.
"Well, you did want a desk job." Eric responded.
"Are you sure I couldn't just…"
"No!" Eric interrupted.
Finishing off his shower and drying off in the changing area, Tommy found himself being approached by Harry.
"Hey Tommy." He greeted him warmly. "Good workout?"
"Just taking in a relaxing few lengths of the pool." He replied. "Nothing major."
"Do you like it here at the base?" He asked.
"I suppose so." He replied thinking about the question a little. "The facilities are pretty good. Wes and Eric seem to make sure we have everything we need."
"I only ask, because the Commander asked me to tell you he'd like to see you." He explained as a little smile crossed his lips. "I think you might be in line for a position here. Usually the Commander doesn't see anyone unless he plans on keeping them around."
"You think so?" Tommy asked. "I mean I like it here, but…"
"I'd just listen to what he has to say." Harry interrupted him. "Oh I guess I should warn you, he isn't exactly what you'd expect."
"I have met Wes before." Tommy reminded him.
"Wes isn't the base commander." Harry informed him. "He and Eric just handle the Ranger training."
"So where do I find him?" Tommy asked.
"I'll take you to him." Harry concluded, gesturing for Tommy to follow him. Quickly getting re-dressed, Tommy followed Harry deep into the base, past the hundreds of living quarters and beyond the research area, coming to a stop by a security door with a retinal scan security system. Allowing the laser to scan his eye, Harry lead Tommy inside, taking him into a large office, almost completely featureless save for a strange looking sword in a glass case by the south wall, and a desk directly ahead of them. Harry turned and left the room, leaving Tommy seemingly alone in this room.
Checking in the direction of the desk, he didn't see anyone there, the chair had it's high back turned to him. Figuring he must be expected to wait on the Commander, he took the opportunity to cross the room and inspect the sword in the case. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. The handle appeared to be almost samurai in design, though a large, ornate hand guard sprung forth from a blade-mounting that resembled a jackal's head. The blade itself was mounted in the open mouth of the Jackal design, extending first as a red, then basic metallic blade. Tommy almost wished he could remove it from it's case to get a better look. Noticing a brass plaque at the base of the case, he leant in closer to read the inscription.
"The Shadow Sabre." A voice announced from behind him, causing him to jump almost out of his skin. Turning to face the new arrival, Tommy had to look up a little to fully take in the creature standing before him. He definitely wasn't human, if anything Tommy would have described him as a giant blue scaly dog. "My name is Commander Anubis Cruger." (a/n. anyone who's read my SPD fics will notice I spelled his name differently in those. The reason is because I only realised recently I'd been mis spelling it. The technical term here is OOPS.) He announced. "Tommy Oliver, the legendary Ranger. It's my honour to finally meet you."
"You wanted to see me?" He asked.
"Tommy, I'd like to offer you a position here with SPD." Kruger answered truthfully. "I believe someone with your knowledge and experience would be a real asset to the base."
"I'm sorry." Tommy stuttered as he tried to think. "I really don't know…"
"It's a great opportunity." Cruger interrupted him. "I can run you through the facilities and perks at your disposal if you accept the job, but I have a feeling this is something you may want to talk over with your wife."
"I'll just go and get her." Tommy replied, still a little rattled by the offer. He'd never have considered getting involved in the Ranger business again. Sure he kept his Zeo morpher, and the Dragon Dagger, together with a few other souvenirs 'just in case' something happened, but the thought of the offer still nagged on his mind.
Heading down the corridor towards his living quarters, he happened across Krista and Conner, just happily leaning on the wall, talking about everything and nothing. He and Kira had millions of discussions like that, and it made him smile to think about how good the pair looked together. He was confident they would be as happy and as strong together as Kira and himself. Approaching them, he attracted Conner's attention.
"Conner, the base Commander wants to talk to Kira and I about something. Would you and Krista mind watching the kids for a little while?"
Conner looked nervously at Krista before answering, he noted the smile on her face and turned back to answer. "Yeah, of course we will Tommy." He responded with a little grin. "Hey, it'll be good practice right?"
"If you can survive my twins, you can survive just about anything." He chuckled. "Now, I'll just go get Kira."
Arriving back at their living quarters, Tommy gently shook Kira awake, placing a finger across her lips to prevent her saying anything and waking the twins.
"Come with me." He whispered gently. "Conner and Krista have said they'll watch the kids."
Leading her back down the hall towards Cruger's office, Tommy briefly explained that Cruger had offered him a job.
"He hasn't said what he'd want me to do yet." Tommy reassured her. "He just wants to show us around and explain a little bit about what he wants me to do, and tell us what they're offering. He just wants us to hear him out, nothing more."
Arriving back at his office, this time to find the door open, Tommy and Kira stepped inside where he greeted them both with a firm handshake. "I'd like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to explain what I'm offering you." He began, gesturing for Tommy to sit. "Tommy, as by far Earth's most accomplished and experienced Ranger, I'd like you to assist Dr Manx in overseeing the setup of the SPD earth base."
"Well I have lead the occasional team." Tommy answered him. "But I don't know about…"
"I have utmost confidence in you." Cruger interrupted. "You did a great job of creating a whole fleet of Zords and turning four inexperienced teenagers into Power Rangers."
"Don't remind me." Tommy grumbled. "You do realise I also created all the monsters they fought. Not to mention the drama I brought about with our kids."
"You made mistakes and you dealt with them." Cruger put down. "As for the situation with your children, Officer Tate tells me you already know we've not exactly covered ourselves in glory on that account."
"I'm a little worried about what sort of life the kids will have here." Kira interjected. "I've known kids that went to boarding school…"
"We are well aware of, and equipped to deal with the plight of families Mrs Oliver." Cruger interrupted her, foreseeing her concern. "We have tutors on-site, and will have for at least the next ten years until we go public with the existence of SPD, following which it will be up to the individual parents whether they want their children to be schooled on-site or in mainstream education. Meanwhile you will be granted generous family accommodation on the base, and any necessities such as rations, clothing etc. will be provided by us. I assure you Mrs. Oliver, you will have to spend no longer away from your children than you wish to."
"One of my first friends was an army brat, and she told me all about…"
"SPD will be a centralised organisation." Again he pre-empted her concern. Obviously he'd made this pitch before. "There will only be one SPD base on earth, and we will use high-speed craft to deploy where we're needed. There will be no necessity for anyone to uproot."
Tommy and Kira exchanged a glance, trying to gauge each other's reactions.
"Come with me." He continued, gesturing for them to follow him. Striding down the corridor, he gestured first of all to the gym complex on his right. "This area here is just one of many gyms on the base. The Gym in the barracks area is restricted purely for the use of Officers and cadets, however this one is available for use by anyone living on-site 24 hours a day." He continued down the corridor as Tommy and Kira followed him. Stopping outside another room, he touched the control panel, opening the door.
Looking inside, Tommy and Kira were amazed at the recreation area inside.
"We have an extensive library, as well as a well equipped recreation complex where anyone on-site can access some of the latest entertainment systems and equipment. We also have outdoor activities supervised by qualified instructors on several allocated days of the week." He turned to look at them. "Believe me; you will not be bored here."
"Eric mentioned that those on site are restricted as to how much they're allowed to leave to maintain secrecy." Kira pitched in as she remembered her earlier conversation when Wes got her name wrong, not knowing she was married.
"That is true." Cruger acknowledged. "But it is restricted to a few times during the day when we can allow entry or exit. Believe me; anyone who stays here is a guest, not a prisoner."
"What about access to medical care?" Tommy asked.
"You and your children could be in no better place if you have an accident." Cruger continued. "Anyone who lives on-site will have full access to the hospital wing. We have some of the best trained doctors, nurses and surgeons in the galaxy on staff here."
"What about the kid's future?" Tommy asked. "You're asking me to sign up for all this, but what about Kira and the kids?"
"They are all welcome to sign up, but it is not a requirement." Cruger informed him. "It is entirely up to every person on site whether or not they take the decision to join SPD, we will neither force them, nor attempt to influence them." He paused for a second for breath. "However, there are many benefits to doing so. SPD is appreciative of the efforts of all it's members to improve themselves. As long as any member bears in mind and accepts the fact that any one of them may be called into active duty in a time of crisis, there are many opportunities for personal advancement. Learning trades, scholarships, academic qualifications, SPD will provide the opportunity for anyone serious to advance to undertake training in any field of their choosing.
Tommy and Kira looked at each other for a minute. They had been rendered speechless, not only had he allayed their fears, he had put across some good points. There was a lot of great opportunities available for all of them if they stayed.
"Can we…" Tommy began. Cruger interrupted him by holding up a hand.
"Discuss the matter all you need to." Cruger told them. "You have at least another couple of days here, and I do not want you to make the decision lightly. I hope yo will consider my offer."
"We'll talk about it." Tommy replied.
"I'll wait for your answer." Cruger stated. With that, he turned sharply on his heel and left them in the corridor as he disappeared towards his office.
"I suppose we have a lot to think about." Kira said, wrapping her arms around her husband.
"I suppose we do." Tommy responded, returning the gesture. "I suppose we do."
