Chapter 11—A Doggie's Story: Part IV
The sky began to brighten as our craft descended into the Earth's atmosphere. It was a shaky descent; after all, the ship did have some damage, but it wasn't near enough to allow for the loss of control. We strapped ourselves in and prepared to land as our altitude put us below the clouds. I then piloted the transport parallel to the surface until a suitable place to land was found. The acceleration was cut once our destination was reached, and a final, slow drop was made before touch down. After shutting the ship down, we unbuckled ourselves and walked out into the sunlight.
Our landing site was stone quarry cut into the side of a cliff. The high altitude gave a tremendous view of the surroundings; the cliff was surrounded by forest and a city sat far to the west, bordering a vast ocean that stretched to the horizon. As we walked out to survey the landscape, the ship suddenly detonated behind us, knocking us to the ground on the edge of a high drop-off. I slowly got to my feet and helped Kat to hers as the totaled transport burned. Then, two figures appeared from behind the inferno. One was clad from head to toe in black armor, and the other was a female in a black, skin-tight outfit.
We took an immediate defense; all signs were showing that these guys were up to no good. They revealed themselves to be Zeltrax and Elsa, servants of one they called Lord Mesogog. The introductions were brief; they charged toward us with their swords. We were at a severe disadvantage as we prepared to fight once again; Kat and I were both spent from the last battle, and we had no weapons. So, in short, it was nothing more than a dodging match as we tried to keep from sustaining further injury. After several minutes, we were able to land some hits, but it only made them angrier, causing them to attack more ferociously. We kept up the fight as long as we could hold out, but they took advantage of their upper hand and knocked us down with energy from their weapons.
However, when all seemed to be lost, a series of explosions rocked the quarry and swept our enemies off their feet. The cause came from the other side of the cliff—five figures in different colored suits and helmets. Zeltrax and Elsa seemed to recognize them and prepared to fight as the figures raced forward, wielding various weapons. Then, from nowhere, several green portals opened, and many armored lizards leaped forth. We didn't grasp what was going on at the time, so Kat and I found a hiding place behind a nearby boulder as the fight escalated. The red, blue, yellow, black, and white figures fought the lizards with brilliant moves and great power. In no time, the reptiles were defeated, and all that was left was Zeltrax and Elsa. The opponents weren't giving up, and they charged again, but the others were determined to put an end to things and they combined weapons into a single super-weapon, then fired from it a massive bolt of energy that easily defeated them both. Another green portal opened and the enemies escaped inside as it closed behind them.
The victors briefly celebrated their victory then came to our position as we emerged. They acted surprised by our appearance; apparently, there wasn't much in the way of "alien" life on this planet either at the time. Then after a little deliberation amongst themselves, they "powered down", thus returning to their original forms—humans. After we introduced ourselves and thanked them for saving us, they told us who they were. They were the Dino Thunder Power Rangers. Conner McKnight—red ranger; Ethan James—blue ranger; Kira Ford—yellow ranger; Dr. Tommy Oliver—black ranger; and Trent Fernandez—white ranger. The rangers offered to let us come with them to their base near the city of Reefside.
It was there that we learned the whole story of what was going on. We had landed in Reefside, California of the United States. An evil saurian tyrant named Mesogog was attempting to take over the planet and turn all of its inhabitants into dinosaurs. The five had come across the Dino Gems, stones of great prehistoric power that allowed them to morph into the Power Rangers—the heroes that could defeat Mesogog and his minions. However—other than themselves, of course—Kat and I were the only other people to know that they were rangers. Before the S.P.D. incarnation of the Power Rangers, the versions of Dino Thunder and earlier had ranger powers as "secret" identities. Two main reasons for this were to avoid attention from the media, and to keep others out of the danger posed by their adversaries.
After they briefed us on the situation, we were allowed to stay inside the base for as long as we needed. Other than the enemies the Power Rangers faced, Kat and I were the first ones of the "alien movement" that was to follow in the years to come, and the humans of Earth hadn't quite embraced the idea of other-worldly visitors then. As soon as they were done speaking, Kat brought something to my attention. She wondered if the power contained in the Dino Gems could used to create another incarnation of the team to use to Space Patrol Delta's advantage in the future. I thought it was certainly possible to do so, but I also knew it was going to be probably the largest undertaking of her career. Challenge aside, she could do it. And so, the idea of Power Rangers S.P.D. was born.
For all the evil that existed in the cosmos, I found it relieving that there were equally nice people around that made the balance. In their spare time between home and school at Reefside High, Kira and some of her friends from campus took Kat out shopping at the local mall downtown; Connor, Ethan, Trent, and Dr. Oliver did the same with me—primarily for clothes. Their hospitality ensued for several months, despite being stretched thin between fighting evil and living normal lives. I hated that they were going through so much to help us, but it was a choice the rangers were willing to make. However, they would be paid back soon enough.
It had been about six months since our arrival on Earth; we had been living in the rangers' base for the duration. Throughout our stay, Kat had set up her own little "lab" to do her research on the power within the Dino Gems. The others helped as much as they could, including myself, though the "real" helpers were Dr. Oliver—a high school science teacher, and Ethan—a techno whiz. The day was a pretty normal day for us; Kat, Tommy, Ethan and I were at the base doing research, and the others were out doing other things. Suddenly, the rangers got an alert of danger on the coastline outside of the city. They contacted the others to meet them there and immediately left, themselves. Kat and I followed.
Not much later, we arrived on the scene; Zeltrax and Elsa were at it again, and many Tyranodrones accompanied their presence. The rangers morphed as we hid nearby and watched them fight. There seemed to be many more T-drones this time than in the first incident we had with them, and they were ferocious as ever as they charged for the rangers. A hand-to-hand melee ensued, and the T-drones outnumbered the rangers by a ratio of nearly 10 to 1, but that didn't stop our heroes from plowing through the enemies. Finally, the large squad was defeated after a chaotic fifteen minutes; however, Zeltrax and Elsa still remained, and the rangers were running low on adrenaline.
After little talk, the second phase of the battle began, but the good side was downed by the opposing power in less than sixty seconds. With little power left to sustain their forms, Connor and his team were forced out of ranger form as they lay on the ground defeated. As we watched, we faced a choice—either go out and fight, or let the city be destroyed. Kat and I were due a rematch with them eventually, so we agreed to fight. We emerged from our nearby hiding place and confronted the enemies as the others looked on in the background.
I took on Zeltrax as Kat fought Elsa. I was able to get some quick blows in to start, but they did little to stop the cyborg as he attacked with his sword. I sidestepped the attack and took the offensive again, but once more, his armor was too tough. Zeltrax must have loved his sword; he continued the fight with a succession of swipes with the blade. It was a good thing he wasn't very accurate with it, though. Either that, or I was too fast for him.
Not long into the fight, I noticed Elsa deliver a gigantic energy swipe at Kat, knocking her backwards and slamming her hard against a rock face. She soon fell face first into the sand, unresponsive as blood oozed from a wound on the back of her head. Elsa then came my direction as Zeltrax caught me off guard and connected with a swipe across my chest that knocked me down. As I held my chest in pain, my hand came back red with blood when I released. It wasn't a deep injury, but it still was painful. Still, I managed to get back on my feet as the enemies approached once more, weapons drawn. It was then that I realized that Kat wasn't awake to see, so it was decided to use my powers to my advantage.
My shirt was pretty much torn in half, so I took it off to enable myself to release more energy. I then ran my hand across the length of the cut, causing the water in my body to speed up exponentially in that region, which in turn greatly sped up the healing process. The cut glowed with energy, and in seconds, it had healed. Zeltrax and Elsa seemed a bit stunned by my power, but soon snapped out of their awe and charged with their swords. Just as they were about to strike, I forced both of my hand forward, shooting out streams of water that wrapped themselves around the blades, holding them in place. My opponents struggled as hard as they could to retrieve their weapons, but I simple jerked them out of their hands and reeled the streams of water backward until I gripped the swords in my hands.
Though beating them was my priority, I still liked a fair fight. While gripping the handles, I forced water barriers through my fists that covered each blade, then spun the barrier so the water would run extremely fast over the blades. Within seconds, the metal of the blades began rusting from the water. After just a couple of minutes, both blades were completely brown with rust, and I relinquished the shields. The swords disintegrated through my hands and fell on the ground in piles of rust on the beach. Now we were even.
I hoped that they would take a hint and flee, but they did the opposite; Zeltrax ran at me first, despite what he had seen. I did nothing as he charged, except extend my hand and fire another stream of water. The stream hit him and spread out along the surface of his body until it completely surrounded him in a liquid barrier. Like the sword trick, the water flowed at horrendous speeds, causing his armor to rust, and causing him extreme pain. After his share of agony, I took the barrier away, and he fell to the ground screaming. I turned to Elsa next as she charged, angry as ever. I did another water move on her, though it was unlike the previous ones I had used.
I forced a hand out at her, but nothing happened immediately. Even so, she stopped in her tracks, realizing that Zeltrax's fate might soon become her own. As I increased my focus, Elsa tried to flee, but she didn't get far before tiring out. While she panted for breath, sweat began to pour from her body—not because she was hot, but rather the fact that I was really taking her water supply away from her. Elsa's sweat slowly floated through the air and congregated into a growing, levitating ball of water in my outstretched hand. The enemy soon collapsed on her hands and knees, thirsty as ever while her skin grew wrinkled and pale. I let her suffering continue for as long as possible before death starting setting in, then I fired the large sphere of liquid back at Elsa. It slammed and merged into her body, replenishing her water supply and knocking her backwards into the surf. Zeltrax rushed to her aid, though he had sustained the same extent of damage, and they teleported away in a green flash of light.
Thankfully, the rangers had went to aid Kat before I was finished, and I rushed to join them. She had not awakened yet, and her head was still bleeding, so wasted no time in locating the injury under her hair. I then placed a hand on it and healed the wound using the same method I had done on my chest. As I did so, the others asked me about the powers I had used during the previous fight. It was their first time to see my abilities, and it would also be their last; I wanted as few people to know as possible. Even at twenty-one years in mine and Kat's relationship, I still was afraid to tell her about my true self. Few details and a request to not tell her anything about this was all I told them about it, and they agreed. Kat eventually woke, and we carefully transported her back to the rangers' base.
Since then, a few months had passed, and the school year at Reefside High was nearly over before we knew it. It was also then that we got some exciting news from the city of Newtech; a new S.P.D. academy was to be built there. However, from what we heard, things were getting off to a really slow start. Construction hadn't started, there were hardly any sign-ups to speak of, and every leadership position was open for the taking. Finally, I had found the opportunity to carry out my role as an S.P.D. commander, and Dr. Manx could further her quest in the field of technological advance. We didn't leave immediately, however; Dino Thunder finally defeated Mesogog and his minions, and we attended the high school's 2004 graduation exercises during that time. Once all was said and done, it was time for us to leave. We asked if any of them would like to come with us, but they declined, for they had careers to chase. Instead, they presented us with the five Dino Gems. The gems had been completely exhausted after the final battle against Mesogog, and the rangers wanted us to keep them to enhance our research at S.P.D. and form a new generation of Power Rangers to defend the Earth from evil on future risings. We took the gems and thanked them for their hospitality. After gathering our belongings, we said our good-byes and began to head out. Tommy offered us a ride in his vehicle; Newtech City is nearly twenty miles to the north of Reefside.
The whole city looked like a huge construction site when the three of us arrived. As said in the name, it was a brand new settlement ten years ago; even to this day, the construction continues as the city grows. It took quite a bit of searching and detours to find the place among the similar-looking building sites, but we finally located a large S.P.D. sign standing in front of a massive clearing of dirt that extended all the way to the Pacific. Tommy parked the car alongside the road, and we all unloaded to check the place out. There were a number of people meeting nearby and surveying the landscape, all clad in S.P.D. uniforms, so a visit to them was priority one.
It tuned out that the group consisted of a mix of humans and aliens, all officers of neighboring bases. Apparently, Space Patrol Delta had grown very significantly in the past sixteen years since the completion of the former Novar III academy; Earth was the 82nd planet to have an S.P.D. base constructed. Though we didn't have uniforms, Kat and I showed them our ID's—I, a commander, and Dr. Manx, a chief scientist. When asked about what base we were from, I told them of the base on Kat's planet and the cause of its demise. Though I hated to admit that our forces were defeated, no harsh words came as a result—only condolences. They knew how enormous of a threat Gruumm was. When we explained about how we came here to live on Earth, the officers gave added interest, probably because of the chance to have the top leadership position filled, which would in turn increase recruitment. Of course, that was our intent, and that's the beginning of our current ten-year career here. Tommy informed us that he had to go back to Reefside, but also informed us that he would be interested in helping S.P.D. during the summer after the base's completion. We accepted his offer before going to unload our gear from his car, and then we waved good-bye as he drove back south.
Signups were still slow, but I made sure that construction began immediately on the premises. My philosophy was that more people would join once the building was near completion, since it would be proven to the world that this idea was destined to become a reality. As construction progressed, Kat and I stayed in a temporary trailer set up for us on the site; we really couldn't afford to live anywhere else.
Then, one year later, the base was completed. As I expected, many more cadets jointed the roster during the latter phases of construction. We received our current uniforms that day and moved out of the trailer to live in our new home. Keeping to his word, Dr. Oliver did come to S.P.D. the following summer and for several seasons to come. He helped teach martial arts and also assisted Dr. Manx in research, as well as teaching classes on basic science. Three years into operation, research of the Dino Gems wrapped up, and the first morphers were created, thus forming the first squad of S.P.D. Power Rangers. To our surprise, Ethan James joined the ranks near the end of the following year, putting great force behind our research program. He stayed with us for several years, but then moved on to bigger things; he now works with NASA. Dr. Oliver, as far as I know, has advanced in teaching and is now a professor at a university in Los Angeles. As for the others, Kira is singing in the music industry, Connor is on the U.S.A. soccer team for the World Cup, and Trent has moved on to become quite the artist. Despite being wrapped up in their careers, we all still manage to keep in touch to this day.
And so, as a commander, I had finally found my purpose for living. However, in these years, that very purpose has seemed to overshadow the reason I am here in the first place. Had it not been for Kat, I'd still be living in seemingly eternal isolation. We were so close before, but now we've in a sense become "impersonal" to each other. I feel I have become more modest, more stringent, and less open because of my position. It kills me that I had to live with those secrets, and even now, there are still things that she doesn't know. It is these secrets that are the cause that drives us further apart. All I wish is that we can have the relationship that we shared before, and that we can regain the love that brought us together.
That is my story.