The Rangers got back to the Red Galleon, and resumed their journey, taking the former Time Force Rangers with them, leaving Boston to recover from the after-effects of the battle with Blood Stalker. Out on the deck, Jen was looking out over the ocean. Troy had bought Alex some time, convincing his former team mates to wait until he had a chance to explain his side of the story, before they took him back to 3012 to face trial for his crimes against Time Force. It was against regulations; they had explicit instructions from higher command to bring him straight back to a maximum security facility to await his trial. She had a feeling that the main reason for that was the same reason they had sent other agents after him before they finally recruited her. They were worried about sending his former team in case past loyalties and personal ties got in the way of their mission.
As Emma arrived, she was holding a device in her hand, above which seemed to be a doll of sorts. It was only as she got right next to Jen, she could see a slight glow from it, indicating that it was made of light. It was a hologram, but it was far more advanced than anything currently available in their time. It showed a young girl, possibly around ten to 12 years old, with a slender build that was not quite ready to mature, but didn't look far off it. She had pale skin, and shoulder-length blonde hair, with grey eyes, and a bright smile that indicated a time of great joy. Emma couldn't really describe her clothing, but knowing where Jen was from, she presumed that clothing styles had changed in the following 900 years or so.
"I'm guessing that's your kid?" Emma asked. Jen turned as she said this, her attention brought back to her present situation. She smiled and nodded.
"Her name's Elaine." Jen told her. "She's my whole world. I know she loves staying with her grandparents, Alex's folks spoil her rotten, but it's killed me being away from her for so long."
"How long have you been away?" Emma asked her. "I guess with all this jumping around in time it must be hard to tell."
"It's been a couple of months now." Jen sighed. "It feels like longer though. I have no idea how I'm going to make any of this up to her. I've been gone a couple of months, her dad...he's been gone even longer, and when I do go back to her, I have the wonderful job of telling her I've arrested her dad."
"That...yeah, that's a conversation I wouldn't begin to know how to have with my kid." Emma conceded. "I really don't envy you."
"You have...?"
"I was speaking hypothetically." Emma assured her. "But I would like kids at some point."
"She's a real handful at times, but I wouldn't a thing about her for the world." Jen said with a smile as she sat on the safety rail. "I guess she didn't have much of a chance, between me and her father...being a trouble maker is kind of in her genetics. She's a complete daddy's girl, she worships Alex, I don't know..."
"Hey, if she's anything like the two of you, I'll bet she's smart too." Emma assured her. "Sure, it's rough when your parents go through hard times, but I'm sure she'll figure it out."
"I was told to bring him straight back, I was told not to talk to him or engage him or...anything." Jen explained to Emma. "I guess Central Command was worried because of our relationship I'd let him go or...or join him or something."
"Would you?" Emma asked her. Jen just shrugged as she put the hologram away.
"I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind." Jen admitted. "I just...I have to know why he did it. He said he did it for Elaine, for me, but...how can any of this...?"
"I guess we're going to find out." Emma interrupted her. She looked out over the ocean. "You know, when times get hard, I like to come up her, or into the Crow's nest. I just like to look around, to remind myself what I'm fighting for."
"I kind of heard you were something of an environmentalist." Jen said as she looked out too. "It is beautiful when it's quiet like this."
"How...?"
"Well, I can't go into details because...well...you know, time lines and everything." Jen began. "But it might please you to know that places like this are still pretty much the same."
"Really?" Emma asked her. "I'd have thought..."
"Somewhere along the line, people figure things out. They find a middle ground a balance, that's what humans do." Jen assured her. "We have a lot of great technology, we just...figured out how not to let it become the be-all-and-end-all of our lives."
"That's really good to hear." Emma said with a smile. Just then, Troy came up onto the deck.
"We're out a safe distance, and Trip got the cloaking technology up and running." He assured them. The Zords had taken quite a bit of a beating, and needed some TLC to get them back to a hundred percent, but they were still operational. "It's time."
"I guess now you're going to get your answers." Emma replied. "Are you..."
"I'm ready." She interrupted the younger girl, getting up. "Let's go talk to my husband."
Down below deck, the others were sitting around, waiting on Jen getting back. Lucas and Katie were keeping an eye on their prisoners, but they had since been released from their bonds at the insistence of the Corsair Rangers. They had confiscated their time portal controller, and they were now out over the middle of the ocean, so it wasn't as though they had anywhere to run to. They weren't trying to escape anyway, and had kept their word to stay.
Tom was looking around the ship with something of a smile on his face. While he had the first sixteen years of Tommy Oliver's memories, being his clone, he had only been in modern times for a few days. He had spent almost his whole life in Colonial times, and had grown accustomed to their ways and styles, so it intrigued him to see that the Rangers had styled themselves after the pirates that had been common on the high seas at that time. The ship itself was superficially much like the ships he had seen coming in and out of ports back home regularly.
"I bet this reminds you of the British coming." Jake chuckled.
"Regulars." Tom corrected him. Jake just looked confused. "The Red Coats were referred to as the Regulars."
"But...what about Paul Revere and...?"
"I've still got that to look forward to." Tom said with a chuckle. "But think about it, how much use would it have been to run through town screaming 'The British are coming'?"
"America was a colony back then!" Gia reminded him. "Practically EVERYONE was British! It wouldn't have been terribly descriptive."
"There you go, that's the last one." Trent said, shaking out his wrist as he handed Noah a comic book. He was already holding a huge stack. They didn't take much with them, but the Rangers had managed to take a few personal items to give them some reminders of home. For Noah, it was a huge stack of comic books, many of which Trent had worked on. Having met one of his idols, he was taking the opportunity which he wasn't certain he'd get again to have him sign them. By the looks of things, Trent was coming down with a monster case of writers' cramp. "I have to say, that's a hell of a collection. I haven't seen some of these in years. Now I know how Carson felt when I brought his first comic to a signing."
"Carson Brady! I LOVE his work!" Noah yelled.
"So do I. My first professional job was a collaboration with him." Trent said with a smile.
"Yeah, I know...I used to own a copy." Noah grumbled. "Until my dad used it as a coaster...comic books and coffee do not mix."
"Well, if we ever run into each other again, maybe I can hook you up with a copy." Trent replied. "You know...if I remember any of this. It kind of sucks that my memory will be modified AGAIN, I'd love to be able to write some of this down."
"WITH some appropriate modifications of course!" He added hastily as he saw Lucas was about to say something. "I have a feeling it would have been some of my best work."
"Noah, if you're quite finished?" Troy asked. Noah just put his comics away and backed off, knowing they had more important things to discuss. Troy looked to Alex.
"We owe you for the rescue, and for the new Zord." Troy told him. "I figured the least we could do is give you the floor to talk to your team before you go to trial."
Alex stood up, making his way into the middle of the room. He looked first of all to Trent and Tom.
"Thanks for your help; I couldn't have done it without you." He told them gratefully. They both just nodded, shaking his hand before he went back to the centre to begin his story.
"As you know, back in our time, our morphers suddenly stopped working. There were a lot of theories, but no one really knew why." Alex told them. "I was investigating, but I knew that I wasn't going to get any answers, so I used my access to the central archives and cross-referenced our history and the original to see what had changed. I knew that outside of the stasis field, no one would know, every change that occurred would modify history, and our memories. When I got into the archives, that was when I learned about the destruction of Eltar."
"That's what destroyed the original Morphing Grid." Troy stated. Alex just looked at him.
"Well, that didn't happen in the original timeline." Alex told him. "The Armada never attacked Eltar, the Morphing Grid was never destroyed, and none of...this...ever happened. You were all still the Megaforce."
"How could you...?"
"I have a...connection...to the time stream." Alex told them. "I can't explain it fully, but it's something to do with my connection to the original morphing grid, and a shift in my own time line, I can feel when something's not right with it."
"Shift?" Jen asked him. "What do you mean?"
Alex breathed a deep sigh as he prepared to tell her something he had kept from her for years, something he had never told her because he didn't want to upset or worry her.
"When I tried to stop Ransik all those years ago, when I fought him before he went back through time..."
"He almost killed you." Jen said as she recalled the incident. "I thought he had, but when you came back, I knew..."
"That's the thing, he didn't ALMOST kill me." Alex told her. "In the original time line, I did die. I died in your arms just like you remembered."
"So, you were brought back by something we did?" Trip asked as he saw Jen staring at him, speechless. "Like a butterfly effect...something just made a marginal difference to that battle so..."
"That's exactly right." Alex told him. "But ever since then, I was intrinsically tied to the time stream. I could feel when something wasn't right with it because...something's not right with me. In a way, I'm a living, breathing paradox."
"So when you found out about the attack on Eltar, you came back?" Troy asked. Alex shook his head.
"At first I tried to bring it to the attention of Central Command." He explained. "I tried to tell them what had happened, I tried to show them the difference it made to the time line, the devastation the war caused...in the new time line, the war with The Armada lasted almost 57 years."
"WHAT?" The Rangers all screamed in unison. It was something none of them could begin to comprehend. They knew that The Armada was strong, but to think that it would take so long, that the world would face their threat for all that time was sobering to say the least.
"I tried to appeal to them, to suggest that we help, but they refused to listen." Alex told them. "With each day that passed, and each time I insisted we had to go back, more and more was changing, but they never realised it because their memories always changed. I started spending more and more time in the archives, using the stasis field to prevent too much of my own memory being changed. Then one day, when I was looking through the files, I saw something else, another pivotal event. The destruction of Andresia."
Orion got up hearing this. He looked to Alex, utterly confused.
"My planet?" He asked.
"More accurately, when you activated your morpher." He told Orion. "You already know that your morpher is tied to all the Sixth Rangers. That it connects you all within the Morphing Grid. That connection, that was something that didn't exist in the original time line. Your morpher was never activated...but when you did, history shifted, and the war...it shortened by fifteen years."
"Fifteen years?" Jake asked. "Him becoming a Ranger cut fifteen years off a 57 year war?"
"I guess it's true what they say, one man CAN make a difference." Gia said, giving Orion a little smile.
"That's when I knew, I just knew that the answer had something to do with you." Alex told him. "That was when I got the idea that if the power of the Sixth Rangers was so vital, so pivotal in history, perhaps that was what was needed to get things back on track. I knew that Central Command would never back me though, so I stole the Q-Rex and the equipment I needed and went into the past."
"He picked us up and explained everything." Trent added. "He told us he picked us because he needed our connection to our Zords to create something from the Q-Rex that would work in this time."
"Both of our Zords were tied to our minds." Tom explained. "The Dragon Zord had a spiritual connection to the Green Power Coin, which allowed me to control it remotely, that's why he needed me."
"And my Zord had its own mind, based on its Dino DNA." Trent concluded. "As for the rest...well...we just couldn't resist pimping it out a little."
"I figured since your morpher gave you the power of all of us, it would allow you to control it." Alex told Orion. "And you didn't disappoint."
He placed a hand on Orion's shoulder.
"Use it wisely." He told him. Orion just looked to him.
"You speak Andresian?" He asked. Alex just smiled.
"A little." He answered. He then looked to Jen, seeing her staring at him in disbelief. He knelt with her, holding her hand softly.
"I'm sorry Jen." He said as he cradled her chin, looking into her eyes. "I knew what the price was going to be, but I knew that if I didn't do this, eventually things would change to a point that things in our time...I don't even want to think how it would be. I got my second chance with you. I earned your love back, and I love you and Elaine more than anything else. I wouldn't let anything put that at risk...no matter what the cost is to me."
"Why wouldn't you just tell me?" Jen asked him. "I'd have come with you! I'd have helped you!"
"Then what would happen to Elaine?" He asked her in response. He pulled her in, kissing her softly. "I never doubted for a second you'd have helped me, but I couldn't bear to have Elaine lose both of us."
"She won't." Jen assured him. "And I don't care what it costs, or how long it takes, we're going to fight these charges. I refuse to let this happen, I'm not losing you!"
"You'll never lose me." Alex said with a smile. He got up and held his hands out to Lucas. "This is the part where you read me my rights."
"I don't think that'll be necessary." Lucas answered, shaking his head. As the former Time Force Rangers assembled, Jen came over to Emma.
"Just remember, the future isn't set in stone, everything you do can affect it." She reminded them. "Every moment is a pivotal moment. Make sure it counts."
"We will." Orion assured her. "Thanks for the Zord Alex."
"I know you'll make good use of it." Alex stated.
"I just wish we had more time together." Gia said as they prepared to leave.
"I just wish we could do more to help." Trip answered. "I can tell you one thing, when you DO find our keys, you don't have to worry about earning our approval, you already have our vote."
Jen paused for a moment, before pulling her hologram projector out of her pocket. She pressed it into Emma's hand.
"What...Jen, you can't..."
"Hey, what do I need a hologram for? I'm going home to the real thing." She assured her. "Besides, I can get more. I have a feeling it'll be more help to you than it will to me."
"Good luck with the trial." Troy said to Alex.
With that, they disappeared in a flash of light, heading back to their own time. Emma put the hologram projector away as they came together.
"Man, that sucks for Alex." Noah grumbled. "He saved...God knows how many people, and after all that, he still has to go and face trial."
"I guess we have more than a few warrants out for us." Gia commented. "Sometimes it sucks being a hero. But would you change any of this?"
"Are you kidding?" Noah asked as he gripped his newly-signed comics tightly. "Not a chance!"
"Anyway, just look at what we've done of over the last few days alone!" Emma stated, smiling at Orion. "We picked up a new Ranger, a new Zord..."
"By the time Prince Vekar stops sulking, he's not going to know what hit him." Gia agreed. They all looked to Jake, who had always been Orion's most vocal critic. He just smiled.
"Well, I can't say that new Zord isn't sick." He conceded. "Not to mention that Silver Spear hurts like a bitch!"
"Well, I think we've earned a rest day." Troy announced. "Who says we find somewhere to pick up some burgers and have a movie night?"
"Shouldn't we be looking for more keys?" Orion asked. Troy just shook his head.
"I think we've got time." He replied, eliciting a groan from the rest of his team as they prepared the ship for the next leg of their journey.
Fin.
A/N: Well, that's the Silver Ranger's introduction arc. I know I've been a little inconsistent in the timing of my output lately, but I want to assure my readers, there will be more soon enough.
With the season hiatus now upon us (Boo...hiss...) the output might be a little inconsistent. I don't want to advance the main plot TOO far, because I know I'll just give myself headaches when the new episodes come out. However, I do have a few ideas for side-plots that I'll be working on. After all, there are still Ranger keys to find, and I'm sure Orion's going to take a while to get used to his new team...not to mention a certain Privateer may just be heading back into the mix!
Thanks for your support and your reviews. Hope you enjoyed it.