Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, or desire to own or make any money off the Power Rangers concepts and characters presented in this story. Basically, I'm playing in someone else's sandbox. Of course, anything you don't recognize from a show is mine.
Power Rangers: Geo-Force
Chapter 9: I Saw What You Did
The four Rangers and Commander Sky Tate arrived at the Forge home. No one else was there, as Lieutenant Forge would be at the Academy until late, and Kris had been released from Medical to his quarters at SPD Command. Sky took a seat and seemed to make himself comfortable. Andrea, Nia, and Conrad followed suit. Tyler, however, remained standing and paced. Sky just regarded him with his ice blue eyes, until Tyler finally stopped pacing, looked at his father and brother's commanding officer and said, "So?"
"So what, Tyler?" Sky responded.
"So, um, you know we're the Geo-Force Rangers?"
"Yes."
"How?"
The other three Rangers were quiet, watching the exchange almost as they would a tennis match.
"Lt. Morv uncovered several things in his investigation of the Museum incident that suggested it was the four of you. I wasn't one hundred percent certain until a few minutes ago, but it was highly likely."
Andrea could no longer contain her curiosity, "What did Lt. Morv find that pointed to us? Um, sir?"
Sky smiled. "Look, as long as we're sitting here discussing this, and since none of you are SPD cadets, why don't you call me Sky. As for your question . . . Andrea, right?" She nodded and Sky continued, "We found that the last tour drone that had any record of you four was one that was damaged in the initial blast, contradicting your report that a drone evaced the four of you. We found a trace of blood in the same area that's DNA returned as having a familial link to three samples in the SPD personnel database . . . Aaron, Anya, and Kristof Forge, even though when I and the med-techs saw Tyler, he didn't have a scratch on him. And lastly, even though we didn't have video from that area, triangulating from the cameras we did have, our mystery Rangers entered from the same spot we have as your last location."
Tyler crossed his arms, "So, are you going to arrest us now for lying to an investigator? Cause if you are . . ."
Sky held up his hand to cut Tyler off. "No, I am not going to arrest you. Arresting Rangers is counter-productive . . . at least after they're already Rangers."
The four teens exchanged a puzzled look.
Sky continued, "Regardless, it seems obvious that your powers are better equipped to deal with this current threat. But I do have a couple of questions."
The Rangers exchanged another look. Tyler answered, "Okay, we'll answer what we can."
Nia picked up, "It's not that we want to lie to you Comma . . . Sky. It's just that we were told to keep this stuff a secret for right now."
Sky looked at Nia, "Right before you healed me, I heard you contact a . . . Grandmother was it? I assume this is your mentor?"
Another four way glance was followed by Nia responding, "Yes."
Sky smiled, easing a bit of the teens' tension. "Good. One of my concerns was that you were going it alone. Rangering without any guidance. Okay, now to the questions. What are we up against?"
Conrad jumped in, "Well, as far as who and why goes, you know about as much as we do. You've seen Crul and the Biodrones for yourself. And that Malika's a new one on us. We never saw her before today. 'Drea, you understand all the technical stuff, about the plants and the animals and the nana-whatever."
Andrea looked at Conrad, sighed, and then turned to Sky. "What Con means is that Crul and I'm guessing Malika as well, are humans that have been enhanced with mutated plant tissue and nano-tech. The Biodrones are a combination of mutated plant tissue and nano-tech. According to Grandmother's analysis they're as tough as an orange-head Krybot. The monsters are a combo of mutated plant and animal tissue utilizing a cybernetic AI and nano-tech nervous systems."
Tyler picked up, "We think Crul, and now I guess Malika too, work for somebody else."
Sky asked, "Based on what?"
"Well, at the museum, after the guys took out the Biodrones, they were going to help me against Crul," Tyler answered. "He looked like he was ready to fight all of us, but then he just took off. Grandmother said she detected a strong telepathic transmission at that moment."
Nia now spoke up, "And I think I heard Crul say something to Malika about a "master"."
"Me too," added Conrad.
Sky seemed to think for a moment. "Well, if their basic foot soldier is as strong as an orange-head, I can see how they were able to take out Alpha squad. Okay, next question, what can SPD do to help?"
The four Rangers now exchanged a shocked look . . . despite Sky's behavior thus far; they had been expecting a more controlling, authoritarian reaction. But Sky seemed to be taking them seriously as Rangers.
Tyler finally swallowed and answered, "Um, well, keep our secret?"
Sky smiled. "Already done. All the data pointing to the identities of the new Rangers has been classified under my authority. Anything else?"
The teens thought for a moment, then Andrea seemed to have a light bulb flash, "Well, even though your officers shouldn't go up against these guys if they can help it, keeping civilians safe while we fight the monsters would help. Wow, I just called other people civilians!" Andre giggled.
Sky chuckled as well, "Done. Good idea." Andrea blushed at the compliment. Sky looked at his chronometer. "Look kids . . . I mean Rangers, I have to get back to Command. Tyler, see me out?"
Tyler seemed startled, and then said, "Um, yeah."
At the door, Sky turned back to Tyler. Reaching into his coat, he pulled something out and handed it to Tyler, who recognized it as one of the ID badges/communicators issued to cadets at the Academy. Sky explained, "Just in case you need to get a hold of me. I've disabled the locator functions, and it's programmed to directly call my personal communicator on a scrambled frequency."
"Wow. Um, thanks Commander."
"You're welcome. And Tyler, you should think about telling your father. I think he'd be thrilled and supportive."
"Um, yeah, I'll think about it."
Malika hung, bound by the techno-mutant vines around her arms and legs. The Master's glowing yellow-green eyes regarded her. Crul stood, grinning, next to his throne, awaiting Malika's punishment. Without taking his eyes of Malika, the Master spoke, "Crul, leave us."
"Master?"
"Now, Crul."
Crul bowed, disappointment etched on his face. "Yes, Master."
The Master waited until he felt that Crul was in his own chambers on the other end of their lair, and then snapped his fingers. The vines holding Malika released her and she dropped to the floor, landing in a crouch. She looked up, confused. "M-Master?"
"You're initiative was impressive Malika, but your motivation was your downfall. I had hoped the sibling rivalry between you and Crul would have been eradicated when I elevated the two of you, but apparently not. You are not in competition with him. He is the fighter, you are the thinker. You both have a place in my plans and my new world. Do you understand?"
Malika, who was now standing, bowed her head. "Yes, Master."
"Good. Now, how did you learn of the Rangers' identities?"
In answer, Malika reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out the plant-bug. She walked over to the wall with the vine-screen. The vines moved into the pattern required to create the holographic screen. Malika placed the bug on one of the vines, where it was absorbed into the vine. The screen played back the briefing between Lt. Morv and Commander Sky Tate.
The Master's yellow-green eyes flashed, and a cold smile crossed his face. "Interesting, Most interesting. In fact, I have an idea. Commander Tate is going to be of more help to us, beyond just uncovering the Rangers' identities. Malika, I have an assignment for you . . ."
