Bridge Carson, Secret Agent Extraordinaire
A.N: Yes! Kat Manx finally has her own, long deserved character filter! And at last, this has two character filters! So now there isn't any excuse for not putting Kat Manx in the character filter if the story is about her!
Leaving the issues of character filters behind, I personally think that this is one of the more insane/weirder chapters yet. Reason? Name one other chapter that involves Bridge, Kat, Sky, Cruger and Birdie in it, Bridge and Kat fighting and that features pirates. Yes, you heard me, pirates. As in 'Argh me hearties!' pirates. Thought so. And remember, ninjas aren't quite nearly as insane as pirates.
Thanks to BB for beta-ing again, and who probably will be for the rest of this fic. Remember to read, enjoy and review! And I hope you enjoyed having two updates in a week! And next week will have only one update, but that only gives you more time to review ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers
'Welcome to Sorberus II, home to at least one factory from ninety percent of the galaxy's leading manufacturers!'
'Sorberus II is known for its many privatised factories. That and enough pollution to make even your toughest Troobian warrior go green.'
Statements about Sorberus II from a travel brochure and official report from the Galactic Association for Pollution Levels.
Time: 1539 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Command and Control Centre, S.P.D. Central HQ
"What the hell just hit us?" Cruger demanded as the room rocked after Fowler had left for the secure room with a third of the Command and Control Centre's defence force.
"Pirate warship sir! It looks like a frigate!" the officer standing at the scanning station shouted. "It's firing!"
"Well, order all defence gunners that they are to fire at will, and by that I mean now!" Cruger shouted.
The HQ wasn't just a defenceless station: only a really poor fool wouldn't think about adding armaments to a station, and considering what the S.P.D. Central HQ was central to, building it without any defences was almost asking for pirate raids daily. As such, the station had a number of laser turrets built around it, capable of matching the cannons of warships with ease.
The space between the pirating warship and the S.P.D. Central HQ's gun turrets quickly became filled with lasers as the gun turrets on both vessels did their best to outgun each other. However, given its size, armour plating and the sheer number of gun turrets, which related back to its size, the gun turrets of the Central HQ won out, just after the pirate ship had launched dozens of boarding pods.
The pods whipped through space, each carrying between ten and twelve pirates, some of which were battle-hardened buccaneers and others little more than conscripted men abducted straight from their homes and forced to fight for the pillaging ways at gunpoint. Armed with a variety of weapons, they were well prepared and eager to launch an attack against S.P.D. for whatever reason and with even more conviction: the pods were a one way trip, and without the support of their frigate, their only ticket out of the station was to steal the station's shuttles.
But of course, they were pirates: that meant that they were essentially obliged to steal anything that wasn't nailed down.
"Yargh me hearties!" the lead pirate screamed as he burst forth from the boarding pod that had attached and drilled through the station's hull, brandishing a cutlass in one hand and a laser pistol in the other. He was wearing tattered black leather clothing and even a black eyepatch: all arch stereotypical gear of age old pirates. "Let's plunder us some booty!"
The pirates charged forward, screaming war cries and curses as some ran headlong into the S.P.D. defenders. Clashes resulted all throughout the station as pirates met cadets, officers and Rangers with lasers, cutlasses and clubs.
Co-Commander Sky Tate was leading a squad of his best Rangers down to a breach near the engine room when the corridor in front of them exploded into smoke and sparks. A dozen pirates ran inside through the hull breach, screaming in the Ye Olde Pirate Speak of…well, Old. They spotted the Co-Commander and the Rangers, and screamed more of their gibberish before charging the 'scurvy dogs'.
The lead pirate ran straight at Sky, raising his sword above his bug-like head. With a yell, he brought it down, but was blocked by Sky's rifle. The sword clanged off the gun, even as Sky rammed his armoured elbow into the pirate's stomach. The other pirates ran right past the duo, and began to engage the five Rangers behind him nearly on a two pirates to one Ranger basis.
Even as the pirate reeled back from Sky's attack, the Co-Commander brought the butt of the rifle down on his head, knocking the pirate out cold. The pirate dropped, and free to redirect his fire, Sky placed a pair of lasers into the back of a pirate sneaking up on the Red Ranger.
"Thank you sir!" the Ranger shouted, even as he clobbered the pirate he was fighting with a fist to the face.
"Less thanking and more fighting!" the Blue Ranger shouted, even as he was shot in the back by a pirate. "I'm hit!"
Sky also shot that pirate.
"Thank you sir!" the Blue Ranger said while getting up and earning a glance from the Red Ranger in the process.
The rest of the pirates went down fairly easily after that, and once again, Sky and his Rangers were charging down the hall, before running into something a little more advanced at an intersection: a pirate wearing what looked like a welding mask, a large tank on his back that suspiciously had the word 'GAS' written on it in nearly illegible writing and red paint, and a metallic hose…that had a fire burning at the end of it.
"Flamethrower!" Sky yelled. "Get back!"
They managed to duck back into a side corridor before the pirate fired. A gout of flame sizzled out of the hose and filled the hallway, before dissipating. Sky was very thankful that the pirate didn't use a liquid to create the flames, otherwise they would've been in a very different position: the fire would've blocked their way until it died out.
Seeing as the pirate had stopped throwing flames into the corridor, three of the Rangers stepped out, their rifles raised and firing the second they rounded the corner. Lasers forced the flamethrower pirate back behind another corner as Sky leapt out and forced their rifles down.
"Watch where the hell you're shooting!" Sky roared. "Hit that gas tank and half this corridor's gonna go up in flames!"
"Sorry sir," they replied, just as Sky saw the pirate with the flamethrower was back.
"Son of a bitch!" Sky's eyes widened, and he instantly let loose a barrage of lasers that struck the pirate, wall and ceiling, and everything except the giant gas tank that the pirate wore on his back.
The other Rangers stared in shock as the pirate toppled down while Sky tried to regain his composure.
"Let's move on," he breathed, before another pair of pirates came around the corner, bearing a pair of large silver and black weapons.
"Look matey, more of those scurvy dogs!"
Sky didn't recognise the guns, but something caught his eye: the clinking and golden chain of age old bullets from a box to the side of the gun.
"Take cover!" he shouted, before the two pirates cackled madly, and pulled the triggers, sending streams of bullets that chipped the walls and ricocheted across the corridor.
The Rangers took it upon themselves to poke out of cover whenever possible, exchanging a few lasers for every few bullets that streaked down.
While the exchange was happening, Sky had called up Bridge's communicator, and was waiting for the agent to pick up, even as a bullet whizzed by.
"Yeah?" the secret agent asked, sounding frustrated.
"Bridge, get your ass back here! We're under attack!" Sky shouted, even as one of the pirates took a laser to the leg and went down screaming, and the other tossed a grenade that exploded.
"What do we do now sir?" the Red Ranger asked, as he fired a few lasers at the now-panicking pirates.
"We kick their asses," Sky replied, peering around the corner and nearly taking a bullet to the helmet for his trouble.
Time: 1549 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Landing Bay 4, lower levels of S.P.D. Central HQ, in orbit over Akaih VIII
It wasn't too hard to tell that the S.P.D. Central HQ was in a bit of a predicament as Bridge landed his shuttle. Even on approach to the station, he could see flashes of laser fire from the windows, and a number of ungainly pods that looked like they had been bolted together from rusted sheets of scrap metal were attached to the hull.
And when he hopped out of the shuttle, the picture became even clearer: sword clashes could be heard along with shouting and screaming much like how he had heard it over the communicator with Sky.
With contacting the Co-Commander in mind, Bridge reached for his communicator, just as a pair of pirates smashed into the landing bay, intent on securing a way out of the station.
"Die!" they screamed at Bridge, raising their swords and charging the surprised agent.
"Pirates?!" was all Bridge could say before a pair of swords were swung at his head, both of which he ducked under.
He kicked one down, and rolled to the side to avoid a sudden downward swing, and ended up facing the pirate's side. Another kick knocked the pirate down and two quick jabs to the pressure points resulted in the pair of pirates rendered unconscious.
"Sky? Come in Sky!" Bridge said into his communicator.
"Go ahead Bridge," Sky said, and he could hear more gunfire over the line.
"Why are there pirates aboard the station?" Bridge asked.
"Why do you think we're under attack?" Sky replied. "Now get a move on to the Triple C! I'm securing the reactor and engines, so I can't help you there!"
"Roger that Sky, Bridge out. Good luck with securing the engines," Bridge said, closing the communicator to see a trio of terrified cadets run past the open door, closely pursued by a pair of pirates.
He blinked, and then lasers flew down the corridor, and a pair of pirates quickly ran past, screaming as a horde of also screaming (but for entirely different reasons) cadets chased after them.
"Alright…" Bridge said, shaking his head before remembering he had a job to do: secure the Triple C.
Time: 1602 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Command and Control Centre, S.P.D. Central HQ, in orbit over Akaih VIII
"Is the Supreme Commander secure?" Cruger demanded, even as the sounds of battle could be heard down the corridor.
"Yes sir; Guardian 1 has reported they have safely reached the room and are securing the perimeter while the others guard him," the communications officer answered.
"Good. Bring half the Command Centre's defence force inside, and have the other half defend the perimeter," Cruger ordered.
Six Rangers, all wearing silver suits and black S.W.A.T. armour with Delta Enforcers came into the room and waited as the other six set up positions outside. They nodded to Cruger even as the Commander pulled out his preferred weapon: the famed Shadow Sabre. A dozen Rangers was all that he had to protect the Command and Control Centre, and while it was tempting to bring all twelve into the Centre to turn the one entrance into a chokepoint, Cruger knew that it wasn't the best defence: all someone had to do was chuck a flashbang into the Centre, and then all the defenders would be paralysed.
One of the silver Rangers looked up at Cruger from his position behind a small barricade. "Sir, Guardian 2 has reported contact and engagement with hostiles. They cannot hold out for much longer."
"Then prepare for battle," Cruger said, preparing his sabre.
Time: 1607 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Hallway 17 Section A Restricted Area, S.P.D. Central HQ, in orbit over Akaih VIII
Bridge hurried down the corridor leading to the Command and Control Centre as fast as he could. The bulkhead that normally sealed the restricted section, which was the corridor he was in, had been blasted open, and a pair of pirates had been guarding it until he showed up.
Leaving a pair of unconscious bodies behind him, Bridge slowed as he approached the entrance to the Command and Control Centre, wincing slightly at the sight of its defenders sprawled across the ground along with the bodies of apparently veteran pirates. However, he hurried up when he heard the sound of fighting going on inside the Triple C. Reaching the entrance, he very carefully poked his head inside.
Inside, two of the six Guardian Rangers (the other four were sprawled across the ground) were fighting off nearly three times that many pirates, as Cruger fought alongside them. The Commander was showing his skill with the blade, hacking and slashing away at pirates who got too close. But even with the skill displayed from all the remaining defenders, it was obvious that the defenders were going to lose, unless someone stepped in.
And sure enough, Bridge stepped in.
His pistol was the first thing to enter, as he shot in a pair of pirates who were going after the officers in the room, many of which had been cowering underneath the consoles they worked on.
The sudden barrage of shots stopped a few pirates dead as they glanced back at the doorway.
"Argh! More scurvy scum!" one roared, raising his blade and rushing Bridge.
"Stop talking like pirates!" Bridge yelled back, running forward and fly kicking the pirate in the face. "Oh wait, you are pirates. My bad."
The pirate barely had more time to say anything else pirate-related when Bridge's foot swung around and connected with his bandana-wearing head. The kick knocked the pirate out cold, even as the remaining pirates realised that their chances of winning had dropped dramatically.
"Argh! Kill their scurvy dog leader!" the pirate leader shouted, before issuing a war cry and charging at Cruger along with the three other pirates remaining, their intent obvious.
Cruger managed to cut down the first attacker, before the other three pounced on him, driving the S.P.D. Commander to the ground and proceeding to pummel him with whatever they could get their hands on.
"Don't just stand there! Pull them off!" Bridge yelled to the dumb-struck Guardian Rangers, and to demonstrate, dived into the mess himself.
Moments later, a pirate flew out of the pile, screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs before impacting against the wall and sliding down, unconscious. Taking his example, the remaining two Guardian Rangers shoved into the pile, punching one pirate out and smashing the other's head with a rifle butt and at last, with the help of Bridge, yanked out the fourth and final one, before proceeding to punch him in the face.
"Command Centre secure," one of the Guardian Rangers panted at last. "Thanks Agent."
"No problem."
Time: 1642 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Command and Control Centre, S.P.D. Central HQ, in orbit over Akaih VIII
Bridge stood at attention, a neutral expression on his face as Supreme Commander Fowler paced up and down in front of him, arms folded behind his back, and as always, head raised high. He never seemed to look down unless it was to speak to someone.
"So, with the unfortunate incapacitation of Commander Cruger, I'll be temporarily the Commander of this station until he is better," Fowler said, not mentioning the fact that by being the Commander of this station meant being Commander of all S.P.D. forces throughout the galaxy.
Commander Cruger was now currently in the Infirmary, along with dozens of other officers and cadets injured because of the pirate boarding action. The commander had suffered multiple wounds including several stab wounds, broken ribs, arms and legs and had lost a lot of blood. If he had been human, as Syd told him earlier, he would've been dead by now.
"Sir, with all due respect, I thought that protocol said that the second-in-command takes over in case the current Commander is incapacitated or incapable of commanding," Bridge said, frowning.
"A small shift in protocol temporarily for the better," the Supreme Commander said dismissively. "Tate will keep his post of course and I will take his advice into consideration when necessary."
"If you say so sir."
The Supreme Commander stopped pacing and instead proceeded to move over to and sit down at Cruger's desk. He let out a content sigh when he did so, before proceeding to drum his 'fingers' across the surface of the table.
"Agent Carson, there is something that I need you to do," Fowler said, motioning for Bridge to come closer.
"Yes sir?"
"We believe that there is something suspicious going on at a Gruumm Armaments Inc. factory on Sorberus II. I need you to go there and investigate, and then report back on what you have discovered," Fowler said.
"When do I leave sir?" Bridge asked. It never paid to question anything besides leaving times and objectives when it came to the Supreme Commander.
"Now, Agent Carson. Dismissed."
Bridge saluted, and then turned on his heel and left. Fowler watched the secret agent leave before he himself left the Command and Control Centre.
Nearly half an hour later, the scanning officer blinked as the computer reported that it had detected a message sent that checked out, though whose code it was the officer couldn't tell. He frowned even more at the content of the message.
Snd Strk Tm to Elmnt Agnts.
Apprv.
Time: 1656 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Beutat's office, Chimera Mobile HQ Phoenix, en route to Sorberus II
"S.P.D.'s been attacked?" Kat asked, more than slightly shocked at the news. Her mind instantly shot to Bridge and wondering where the secret agent was during the attack.
Beutat nodded vigorously through the hot coffee in his mouth. He grasped for the remote for the screen on the side of his office with his left hand, ever so reluctant to let go of his coffee. At last, his large sweaty palm grasped the remote and turned the screen on to the news channel.
"A shocking development has occurred today," the female reporter was saying as the background showed the S.P.D. Central HQ. "We have received word that the S.P.D. Central HQ was only attacked just hours ago. Who the attackers are or what their intents were are unknown at this point in time, but what is obvious is that the attack has either succeeded but the attackers are remaining quiet, or that their attack has been repelled."
The reporter continued to prattle off the facts as Beutat switched the screen off.
"Is this a good sign?" Kat carefully asked as her commander drained the last of his coffee.
"I wouldn't think so: it's a sign that S.P.D.'s power base is weakening, which probably is good for us, or that it's a sign that other organisations are becoming very powerful these days, which isn't so good," the commander answered.
"How is S.P.D.'s weakening power base good for us?" Kat asked.
"You should know that we are always considered second to S.P.D.," Beutat said as Kat rolled her eyes. Here he went again… "Well, if their power base is weakening, it means that we may have a greater portion of the official funds that each of us is given."
"And we can improve our equipment, training facilities, recruit more people and so on," Kat finished for him.
There were actually two funds: the official fund that the galactic administration body designated for the two law enforcement agencies, but that was never enough. Instead, both agencies had a 'contracts' of sorts with a few planetary governments that allowed them to have the extra funding necessary. Hardly anyone in the public and not involved with either organisation knew about the unofficial funds, and most intended to keep it that way.
"I don't suppose that you've called me here to chat?" Kat asked, folding her arms across her chest in a very direct, non-suggestive manner. After that little incident a few weeks ago, she had been forced into a pact with Felix not to do anything stupid in Beutat's office.
"Always working Kat," Beutat sighed. "But no, I haven't. I need you to investigate a Gruumm Armaments Inc. factory on Sorberus II."
Kat nodded. "Will I be getting any support from Colonel Aiola's Black Ops?"
Beutat shook his head. "This is a strictly restricted mission Kat: Class 9 restriction. No one else can know about it."
"When do I leave?"
"Now. Good luck, and be careful."
"I always am."
Soon after the shuttle Kat took left the Phoenix, a communiqué was sent out. Had someone been at the scanning station, the message would have been found.
Snding Strk Tm to Srbers II.
Time: 1805 hours, galactic standard time / Location: On approach to Sorberus II
Bridge stared at the planet of Sorberus II with a mixture of awe and disgust.
Virtually all the planet was urbanised, and most prominent were the so-called 'factory farms': entire stretches of land devoted to nothing but factories and the running of them. Automated transports and mag-lev railways carried the raw materials from the mines and refineries to the factories, where they were turned into goods. Clouds of smog always covered the skies, and Bridge remembered reading a fact that seeing the blue sky was a one in a thousand chance.
There was a very good reason for the planet's sheer number of factories: the sheer quantity of natural resources that the planet held. Sorberus II was a literal goldmine of all the materials necessary to produce goods: ore, gas, oil, all of it. That made the price of locally buying the materials ridiculously cheap, and considering how easy it was to mine, that also added to the astronomically cheap price. And that in turn made having a factory on Sorberus II a very attractive proposal. Often, land for factories sold for record prices as companies competed to get a factory onto the planet.
Shaking his head, Bridge flew the shuttle down onto the landing pad closest to the Gruumm Armaments Inc. The huge factory easily dominated over the others, and the massive stylised 'GA' that was the symbol of the weapons manufacturing company made distinguishing it from the others that much easier.
It wasn't too difficult for Bridge to reach the factory gates, and after that, it was a simple matter of watching for the security guards before scaling the gate with his hidden grappling hook. Of course, the fact that it was becoming dark also helped.
"Note to self: thank Sophie and Boom for designing the miniature grappling hook," Bridge said as he landed on the other side, still unseen by security.
Not wanting to further test his luck, Bridge just bolted for the entrance when a transport overflowing with processed ore rolled up, attracting the guards' attention. Climbing up a maintenances stairwell and slipping in through an open window with a few near-disasters, Bridge soon found himself standing on a catwalk inside the massive Gruumm Armaments Inc. factory.
The furnaces of the factory created an eerie red light throughout the entire room, and added with the fact that it was essentially the only light inside, the sneaking down the catwalk proved to be more than a little unnerving for Bridge as he made his way to where he hoped he would find something.
"Hmmm…administration sounds good, but I think that research and development sounds better…" Bridge mused to himself as he flicked on a torch and shone it on post the showed directions to each particular section.
Halfway to the research and development section, Bridge rounded a corner and instantly ran into another person, knocking them both down. While on any other occasion he would've gotten up and helped the person up, the fact was that he was on a mission, and he also wasn't supposed to be here. So he launched an attack instead, hoping to knock the other person out with a quick punch to the face before they could alert anyone.
The person however turned out to be well-trained as they kicked his fist out of the way before springing up and lashing out at Bridge with a lightning fast strike aimed at his face. Bridge jerked his head to the side, grabbed the arm before twisting around and pulling the assailant over his shoulder, hurling them over and straight for the catwalk.
Instead of cracking against the catwalk like anybody else would've, the person landed in a crouch, and instantly pushed themselves back up again, curling up and landing both feet against his chest before Bridge could do so much as let go. The attack pushed Bridge down the catwalk, and the attacker continued to flip after the attack, landing and then instantly spinning around with a roundhouse kick.
Bridge ducked under the kick and launched himself forward, rugby tackling the person to the ground, before rolling forward and off them. He sprang up, intent on hitting the person while they were down…but whoever it was rolled backwards, kicking him in the chest again and knocking him down on his behind.
"Oof," Bridge grunted as he hit the ground, before his eyes widened, and hurled himself backward to avoid the fist that flew above him.
He sprang up, and rammed the person with his shoulder before they could get out of the way. Given how skinny the catwalk was however, dodging sideways was nearly impossible as he pushed the person back, and then pushed them stomach first against the railing, above a furnace.
"Now," Bridge panted. "Tell me—…"
Before he could finish, the person did something that he called insane: they dove forwards.
Their hands shot out and grasped the lower railing however, and the force of their dive and the sudden anchor sent the person flying below the catwalk, and given its lack of width, quite easily flipped around underneath, flew up from the other side and landed a kick on Bridge's back, sending the secret agent flying over the side!
Bridge quickly thought, and copied the same move the person had just pulled off, except that he had the momentum of their kick pushing him forwards. He flew underneath and came up, but the person quite accurately timed his flight, and ducked underneath his kick as he flew over again. Luckily, Bridge managed to grab hold again and continue his flight for a second time, this time surprising the person with a successful kick that knocked them against the railing with enough force to bounce them back off against it and back onto the catwalk.
Panting heavily, Bridge quickly proceeded to pin the helmeted person dressed in grey and black military fatigues down.
"Who are you?" he demanded, and the figure actually stopped struggling.
"Bridge?" a very familiar voice asked.
The person shook their head, and that motion removed the helmet that covered their head, and much to his shock, Bridge found that he was staring at Kat.
"Kat?" he asked, shocked, before hurriedly scrambling off her and offering her a hand. "What are you doing here?"
Kat didn't answer as she stood up and brushed herself down. Instead, she suddenly rammed her knee into Bridge's chest, winding him and sending him to his knees.
"That was for hitting me," the feline explained as she helped a winded Bridge up.
"Thanks…" Bridge coughed.
"You'll live. What are you doing here?" she questioned.
"Digging up some dirt on Gruumm," he answered, getting his breath back. "Nice moves by the way."
"Thanks, but I'm also here to do the same thing," Kat said, confused. "Why is that?"
"Coincidence?" Bridge shrugged. "Care to join me?"