By the time Friday morning rolled around, the final day of the election race, there was a distinct buzz in the air. The opinion poll in the Social Hub was showing that out of the four candidates, three of them were very close. Mike had set up more stands to give out his coffee and pastries, and he was flooding the place with flyers. Although he was in the lead, his margin was narrow, and it was clear he was nervous of a last-minute turn around.
As Emma came into the hallway, she got a few wolf-whistles. She was wearing a salmon skirt and blazer, with a white blouse, and high heels. The way she occasionally stumbled as she walked showed she wasn't entirely comfortable with such footwear. She only had the outfit for special occasions at her father's insistence, when hiking high heels were impractical, and in some cases just outright dangerous. It seemed that the other kids approved of the change.
"Hey hey Emma! Love the suit!" Jordan complimented her. "Do you have your camera? I'm sure I could do a great shoot..."
"I think I'll pass." Emma told him, tugging at her blazer. "This is only for today. I feel weird wearing all this stuff."
"It's definitely different." Noah said with a little shrug. "Did you see the getup Mike was wearing? You'd think he was attending the Oscars or something."
"I'll just be glad when all this is over." Emma told them. "Have any of you talked to Uncle since...?"
"When I tried to visit, I just ended up back home." Noah answered. Since the final battle against the Mutants, Gosei had aggressively dismissed the Rangers, teleporting them all home. It seemed that even teleporting back wasn't an option if Noah's word was to be believed. "When I raised Tensou on the communicator, all he said was your new pet's doing well, and that little project of mine...it seems like its still working. No sign of you know what."
"So...they're gone, and the new pet's OK." Gia replied. "But we can't ask him about anything else?"
"Something tells me if Uncle doesn't want to talk to us, he won't." Noah replied. "Why?"
"So...you don't know about Spider?" Emma asked him. They all just looked at her blankly.
"I know he's in Juvie." Troy replied. Emma just sighed.
"He's in their medical wing." Emma told them. "When he's not ranting and raving like a lunatic, he's not saying anything. He's practically catatonic."
"What?" Jordan asked her. "How do you...?"
"My dad is Spider's dad's best friend remember?" Emma replied. "He's been to see Wayne. He said that he's taking all this really hard."
"Poor guy." Noah answered. "I know Spider isn't my favourite person, but seriously...I'd never have wanted anything like that to happen to him. And his dad...he has to be going out of his mind."
"That's what dad said." Emma replied. Just then, the bell rang, and Principal Kwann made her way down the hall.
"I know you all have a lot of responsibilities, but one of those is to your education." She reminded them, gesturing down the hall.
"Principal Kwann." Troy stated. "We were just..."
"Setting a good example for your possible constituents?" She suggested to Emma. "On you go."
As they all left, Trini could only shake her head and smile, thinking of herself and her friends back in the day. Every generation of Rangers was slightly different, but in some ways, a lot of them always looked the same to her.
In the Warstar ship, Vrak was called into Malkor's chamber. He arrived to find his throne missing, and a huge amount of food being piled in by some of his servants.
"You wished to see me My Lord?" He asked, a little curious as to what was going on. He was more than a little concerned that he was calling him to berate him for his most recent failure. Throwing the most powerful mutants available, even with the Aurora Box, hadn't gotten the job done. The Rangers had once again seemed to pull out a new toy at the last moment that had won the day. It was a habit even Vrak was finding irritating, but Malkor...he was close to losing his patience altogether.
"I do Vrak." Malkor told him. "It has occurred to me that every time we face the Rangers, they get more powerful, just like ourselves."
"It seems that way My Lord." Vrak replied.
"The only problem is that their power grows at a rate far greater than our power grows." Malkor said thoughtfully. "It was a mistake to believe that savages like the mutants could get the job done. If we're going to gain the power we need, I feel it is time for me to evolve."
Vrak felt his spirits lifting. He knew enough about the Warstar to know what that meant. Like many insects, sometimes they would enter a cocoon, and hibernate for a period of time while they evolved into a new form. When they emerged, they would be far more powerful than before. It wasn't something undertaken lightly, while they were in the cocoon, they were vulnerable. They were unable to defend themselves.
"I presume you want me to defend your ship." Vrak replied.
"That won't be necessary." Malkor responded. "I think we would be best served lulling the Rangers into a false sense of security. Perhaps if we do nothing, they will believe we have finally given up."
"So...you want to do nothing?" Vrak asked.
"Quite the opposite." Malkor stated. "Why don't you dedicate your time to preparing for our occupation? I'm sure that I'll be looking for somewhere to act as my base of power when I emerge and claim the Earth as my own."
"That is quite a project." Vrak stated. "I will need a few..."
"You will have access to all the means you need." Malkor assured him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have quite a bit of eating to do before I enter my cocoon."
As he left, Vrak just smiled.
"A new base is exactly what I'll need." He replied. "And with Malkor out of the way, I'll have all the time I need to advance my own plans. All going well, he will never have the chance to hatch. The Earth will be mine before he evolves."
Back at the High School, it was coming towards the end of the day. Emma, Mike and Jules were behind the curtain on stage of the main assembly hall, waiting for the final stage of the presidential race to take place.
Gia arrived with Jordan, looking to Emma.
"Any sign of him?" Emma asked. No one had seen Jake. He had disappeared immediately after the debate. With the exception of Jules, who true to form crumbled under the pressure and seemed to add nothing to her credibility. She was currently in the corner, trembling like a leaf.
"We've checked pretty much everywhere." Jordan told her.
"Well, we can't wait any longer." Principal Kwann told them. "If he shows up, he'll be able to give his final address. If not...then he'll have to take his chances."
With that, Gia and Jordan left, leaving the rest of the candidates behind. Trini just looked to Emma.
"I know you're worried, but I'm sure he's fine." She told her. Emma just sighed and nodded, heading to her podium. With that, Trini gestured to the janitor to open the curtains once more. The students were waiting patiently for the poll to open. This year, unlike other years, they were doing the whole thing online. It had been proposed as a way to make the result instantaneous, and also save paper. She went to the microphone.
"Well, the moment of truth is almost upon us, the polls will open shortly." Trini declared. "Now, each of the candidates will take a couple of minutes to make their final statements. Please remain silent while they do. Jules...would you like to begin?"
Jules just looked to the crowd, and murmured something in the microphone. It was a little hard to make out, but by context Emma presumed it was meant to be 'vote for me.'
"Alright...thank you." Trini stated. "Emma, would you like to make a statement?"
Emma stepped up to her podium, and saw that Jake still wasn't there. She took a deep breath, before beginning.
"I could spend this time deriding my opponents, or promising a bunch of stuff that I know I can't deliver. I also won't spend any time claiming I am perfect and haven't made my share of mistakes as you are all aware." Emma told them, looking to Mike. "But I've always prided my campaign on transparency. I won't add any new promises at the last second just to win a couple of extra votes. You all know what I stand for, and that's what you should vote for. I promise to negotiate a new deal for the school vending machine contract to increase revenue. I promise to distribute the school budget more fairly among the arts, the sciences and the other extra-curricular activities. I promise to increase the school's efforts in waste management and recycling, and I promise to distribute more resources to creating school grounds we can all be proud of."
As the students applauded, Trini went back to the microphone. Emma reminded her a lot of herself, with some shades of Kimberly from back in the day. She looked to Mike. "Mike, your final statement?"
"I just want to reiterate what I always have. I'm simply the best man for the job." He told the students. "I'm not going to say the school doesn't have problems, but just think, do we really need a new garden? Do you want to vote for someone who can't even speak in public? Or someone who glosses over the fact that..."
"Mike!" Trini interrupted him in warning. She knew where he was going. He just conceded the point.
"Or you could always vote for someone who clearly has so little interest in your opinion, he hasn't even turned up." He told them. "I say no. Remember who's already done something for you and vote for me."
"Thank you Mike." Trini stated. "Now, your last candidate appears to not be..."
"Sorry I'm late Principal Kwann." Jake called out, arriving in the hall. He came striding through the crowd, having changed out of his shirt and pants, back into his familiar hoodie and jeans. He was carrying a soccer ball as he went to the stage and climbed up onto it. Trini just gestured to the podium.
"OK, alright." She stated. "Better late than never. On you go."
Jake stepped up to the podium, setting the soccer ball aside. He prepared to address the crowd.
"I don't care if I win." Jake began. He got a reaction from that, everyone just stared at him. It was certainly something that no one else had said as part of a campaign. He stepped around the podium, taking the mike with him. "What I mean is, while I think I could do a good job, and I promise I would try, I've figured something out. It really doesn't matter if I win."
He then looked out over the crowd.
"You see, the election, the things we actually do, the promises we make. Those are the things that matter. The causes I've heard, some of those will benefit the school long after we're gone. To put it bluntly, this election is bigger and more important than I'll ever be, than any of us will ever be." He continued. "My main manifesto point, to make things easier for disabled students is going to benefit students for a long time."
He then turned to Emma.
"Emma, your idea of bringing in more money for the school, and the redistribution of the funding is going to benefit the school for years." He stated. "If you promise to enact my policy regarding improvements to disability access, I'll promise to take on those policies of yours."
"I promise." Emma replied, looking impressed. Jake just turned back to the crowd.
"So, rather than convince you I'm the best person, I just urge you to think of the kind of school you want." Jake replied. "Vote well."
"Well that was...interesting. Thank you Jake." Principal Kwann answered. "OK, the polls are open...now."
As she said this, the candidates went into the crowd. Emma went to Jake's side, putting her arm around him.
"Hey, what was that for?" He asked.
"That was pretty amazing what you did there." Emma told him. "I know I'd never have thought of it."
"Well, I guess I'm just more concerned with whether or not the school ends up a better place than if I'm the one doing it." He told her. "I know it'd look good on my CV, but can you imagine me in all those boring meetings?"
"Somehow, I don't think they'd be quite as boring if you were in them." Gia chuckled.
"Wait, something's happening." Troy stated, pointing up to the stage where Principal Kwann was holding a tablet. She checked it, before heading to the microphone.
"Alright, the polls are now closed." She announced. "In order, with a result of 2 percent...Jules."
There was a polite applause, but Jules was nowhere to be found. She had disappeared, probably humiliated after her disastrous performance.
"Poor Jules." Emma stated. "Even I never wanted her to lose that badly."
"With 29 percent, Mike!" She announced. Mike just started ranting about something, and turned to some of his running buddies, screaming something at them. Emma turned to Jake, looking completely delighted.
"Mike's lead slipped!" She shrieked. "It's going to be one of us!"
Jake just held his arm around Emma.
"Well, whatever happens, I think you'd be a great..."
"With 33 percent, Emma!" Trini called out, leaving Jake struck dumb "Meaning that with 36 percent, your winner and new Senior Class President is Jake Holling!"
Jake just stood, unable to say anything. He had to be practically shoved onto the stage by Jordan. Principal Kwann gestured to the podium for him to say something. Jake, for once in his life found it difficult to find something to say.
"Um...thanks for the vote of confidence!" Jake began. "I...um...I don't really know what to say, other than...I'd really appreciate some help in making sure I don't screw up too badly. So...I promise to do my best. Thank you!"
As the students cheered, and Jake made his way back into the crowd, he saw Emma. She was obviously disappointed, but she seemed happy that he had won.
"Emma...I..."
"It's alright. You did really well. Well done." Emma told him humbly. "I'm sorry..."
"It's alright. I guess I was just a little oversensitive." Jake assured her. He saw Principal Kwann approaching. "Principal Kwann...um...I know it's not exactly in the rules or anything..."
"Jake, I think that this election pretty much took the rulebook out back and shot it by this point." Trini chuckled as she looked to him. "What can I do for you?"
"I was just thinking, maybe only one voice isn't the best idea." He suggested. "I got most of my ideas by bouncing them off others and getting suggestions from others...is it possible to have a vice-president or something?"
"I think we can manage that." Trini said, looking impressed. "Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Well, you're the one with the ideas." Jake said, looking to Emma. "If you don't mind..."
"Hey, I wanted the opportunity to change things right?" Emma asked. "Of course I'll do it."
"Well, that settles it." Trini answered. "Good job Jake. I have a feeling those student-staff consultative meetings will be pretty interesting this year."
"Thanks Principal Kwann." He answered as she left. He then just turned to the others.
"Well, how about celebrating at the Brainfreeze?" Jordan suggested. "The President can pay."
"Aw man...really?" Jake complained as they headed for the door. "I bet President Taylor didn't have to pay for HIS inauguration dinner."
"HOLLING!" He heard the coach yelling. Jake just gestured to the others to go on without him. The coach just smiled.
"Well, that was a hell of a show you put on there Holling! It went down a charm!" He complimented him. "Now you've got the election, you don't have to keep up the show any longer. You can get onto making sure the athletics..."
"I'm not going to sell out coach." Jake told him. "I meant what I said, my policies are too important."
"Holling, I only got you into this election because I thought you knew how to play ball!" The coach protested. "What about the team? Don't they mean anything to you?"
"Yeah, they do actually, but something tells me getting the bus to games won't exactly kill us." Jake replied.
"Well, you can just kiss that Captain's armband goodbye then Holling." He continued.
"Good! I don't deserve it anyway!" Jake told him. "I haven't come up with one play. I'm not great with tactics anyway. I'm happiest just getting told where to be to take my shot. Jordan's the playmaker, I've seen his playbook. He's the one that should be captain."
"But..."
"And if you don't want me to start telling people how you tried to bribe me into making decisions for your benefit, I think you'd best announce Jordan's getting that armband." Jake told him with a smile. "He's the one that deserves it after all."
The coach just looked at him in disgust, and walked away. Jordan came back to see what the holdup was.
"Jake, are you coming?" He asked. "What are you smiling about?"
"Just thinking...maybe this politics thing won't be so bad after all." Jake told him. "Come on, let's get ice-cream."
Fin.
A/N: OK, just so you all know, I will get to the robot part of the series soon, but I've got a story arc of my own that I want to do first. Think of it as a late substitute for the Halloween special.
Thanks for your support, and hope you enjoy the next story.