Bridge Carson, Secret Agent Extraordinaire
A.N: Woohoo, I got a chapter up in record time xD Where I am, it's late Christmas Eve, so think of this chapter as my Christmas present to you readers out there!
Merry Christmas to all of you!
And sorry for the lack of a chapter dedication last time. It kinda slipped my mind, so sorry about that! I'll dedicate this chapter to Kat Ranger, who's been a good friend to me as well and a constant reviewer. Here's to you! Now, this chapter HAS been beta-ed by BB, so welcome back! Thanks to BB again, and now, I'll shut up and let you get on with the reading!
Read, enjoy, and make my Christmas morning by reviewing please!!!!
Merry Christmas!
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers
"I suppose this was the biggest shock of the whole incident. This was when we learned that everything that our agents have done, everything they succeeded in doing and every victory they won for us was all planned out."
"My first coherent thought after those mad few hours of fighting against the enemy? Whoever planned this was a goddamned genius."
Two anonymous S.P.D. Rangers, discussing the Rebellion
Time: 1252 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Control room in silo room of Gruumm's secret fortress on Agasoi Prime
The S.P.D. Rangers seemingly ignored the two agents as they swept into the room, and fell upon the prone forms of the two terrified technicians (one of whom had a cracked lip and a bruised jaw from Kat's punch) and Gruumm, who was just starting to regain consciousness. Two of the biggest and burliest Rangers, armed to the teeth approached the fallen madman, who was just starting to groan and recover from unconsciousness. The two Rangers hauled him up as Bridge and Kat separated, before handcuffing his wrists together behind his back. They weren't taking any chances before containing him.
"Curse you, agents!" Gruumm shouted angrily once he had fully awakened and realised that he was being put away.
"Ya know," Bridge commented to Kat. "He doesn't really seem all that frightening when he's being cuffed and contained."
"Agreed," Kat smiled slightly.
As more Rangers began filling up the room and checking it over for any more hidden booby traps, Bridge suddenly remembered the data disc part that Gruumm had. Kat cocked her head slightly in curiosity as Bridge went to Gruumm, before shaking her head and moving to join him.
"What are you doing?" she asked once she had caught up.
"Tying up one last loose end," he replied, before asking one of the Rangers who had cuffed Gruumm (and who was nearly a head taller than him) "did he have anything on him?"
"Just this broken data disc," the Ranger replied in a deep voice that suited his massive stature. He held the broken data disc, which gleamed in all its red and gold glory in the overhead lighting in his fingers. The small silver eagle was there as well, and since it had been taken off Gruumm, Bridge was absolutely certain that this was the final missing piece.
"May I? Commander Cruger wants me to bring this to him," Bridge said.
The Ranger grunted in non-committal, uncaring way and handed the disc to Bridge. "Whatever. What the Commander says, goes."
"Thanks," Bridge said, pocketing it before remembering Kat and that she worked for Chimera. "And I suppose you probably want this as well…so what do we do?"
Kat deliberated on the matter.
"Well, I can't disobey my orders and not hand it to the Commander…maybe we can break it in half, and you keep one while I—…"
"Stuff Beutat and whatever he wants," Kat said, surprising Bridge.
"What?"
"I don't really care about whether he gets that disc segment or not," Kat said. "You keep it, and give it to your Commander."
"But won't he be…"
"Mad at me? He would, if he wasn't so damned infatuated with me that he's willing to forgive nearly everything I don't do," Kat said, with a smirk. "I'll just tell him that you got to it first."
"Oh, well, thanks, I guess," Bridge said, feeling decidedly unsure of himself.
"Don't mention it, it's nothing," Kat said as the two of them walked away.
"You two don't get it, do you?" Gruumm laughed from behind them, all traces of anger seemingly evaporated. His two guards went to contain him, but Bridge turned around and stopped them with a slashing motion of his hand. Something compelled him to hear what Gruumm had to say.
"Get what?" Bridge asked, as Kat turned around to face him as well.
"My influence is everywhere," Gruumm said. "You didn't think I was the only one in this whole galaxy who thought of upturning the power table and shifting it into my hands?"
"You're the only crazy enough to think that it may actually happen," Kat pointed out.
"Fools!" Gruumm laughed. "You may have captured me, but this is only the beginning! I promise you this: in the next few months, everything will change. And none of you will be prepared for it!"
"Yeah yeah, you sure are right about the galaxy changing: it's gonna change for the better with you locked away in a containment card," Bridge said dismissively. "Now, prepare to say hello to your new home inside a containment card."
"Do you really think it's just about me?!" Gruumm demanded, still laughing. "You're even bigger fools than I initially thought! Did you know S.P.D. and Chimera, whatever it is that they've been doing these last few months, has been at my behest? S.P.D. and Chimera have been under my control! Your so-called 'commanders' are nothing more than pawns that I control!"
"…now we know that you really are deluded," Bridge sighed.
"He must be, to think that he controls S.P.D. or Chimera," Kat shook her head. "There are other weapons manufacturers out there, Gruumm. You're not the only one willing to supply us with weapons. Just because your company manufactures most of our weapons doesn't mean that you control it."
"Who said it was about weapons? I can completely control S.P.D. or Chimera without the need of threatening to cut off supplies of weaponry!" Gruumm revealed.
"Right," Bridge said, still not believing Gruumm. "Say 'hi' to your new home."
"Nooooooooooooooo!—"
Gruumm's scream of anger was abruptly cut short when a morpher flashed, and secured him away into a small, thin containment card.
"I'll get you two for this! You'll pay! You'll all pay!" Gruumm screamed from within the card.
"Why do they always want to do it the hard way?" Bridge sighed as Kat shrugged. Gruumm's card was then sealed into a container, which was then taken out of the control room, under the guardianship of a full team of Guardian rangers, who were the best of the best out of S.P.D.'s entire Ranger corps. The rest of the Rangers in the room soon followed, until it was empty again.
"Doesn't matter," Kat shrugged. "I'd better get going as well. Beutat's going to want to know what happened."
"Do you need a lift or something?" Bridge asked, starting to walk out.
"No…come to think of it, can I borrow your radio for the time being? Mine was destroyed," Kat said.
"Sure thing." Bridge handed Kat his radio and headset soon after and waited for her outside the room whilst she conversed with her commander.
It didn't take long for her to come out.
"Thanks."
"No problem," Bridge replied, pocketing the radio and headset within his armoured vest.
"Well, this is it. I suppose I'll see you around someday," Kat said, with a faint smile at Bridge.
"Who knows?" Bridge shrugged, smiling back. "Of course, given our luck, we'll probably meet again while being shot at and hunted to death by some rogue militant group or something."
Kat laughed. "It's been nice knowing you. I'll see you…whenever we next meet," she farewelled him, before hugging him. She turned, slid down the ladder (the missile had been confiscated by the S.P.D. frigate above) and had reached the next one. She gave one last glance at Bridge, who gave her a salute. Grinning, she stepped onto the ladder.
"Ma'am, wait up!" a frantic voice caused her to stop, and look back up.
An S.P.D. Red Ranger was running towards her, sliding down the ladder as she hauled herself back up.
"Yes?"
"I think you'd better take these with you," the Ranger said, before holding out ten containment cards. Kat's breath choked in her throat when she realised that each held the body of one of the deceased Black Ops in Team Gamma-Eight.
"Thank you," she said, before putting them away in a secure pocket.
"No problem, have a good day ma'am."
Time: 1638 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Primary Landing Bay, Chimera Mobile HQ
The dropship ride had been unusually quiet. Of course, the fact that she was the only person in the passenger bay, which hours ago, had been filled with ten joking Black Ops could've been the reason why. Now the entire dropship only housed thee persons: the pilot, his co-pilot and herself. She stared at the ten containment cards she held and wondered what she was going to do. The cards normally had to be opened with a designated reader which would then pop it open. But there was the 'emergency' way of opening the cards: simply snapping the top off would cause the card to release its prisoner inside.
A slight amount of static overcame the intercom in the passenger bay, before the pilot's voice sounded.
"We're landing in the Phoenix now, agent. Welcome home."
"Thanks," Kat said, not connected to herself as she heard the words. Something about leaving the field of battle where the line between good and evil was clear had forced her mind to become contemplative. There was something about Chimera and something aboard the Phoenix that she just didn't like, and she couldn't seem to pin it down.
Then she was jolted out of her thoughts when the dropship shook as it landed on the floor of the landing bay. A series of clamps dangling from the ceiling dropped down and activated, each clanging against the dropship's hull. She knew it was for hoisting the dropship up as soon as everyone had disembarked, to make room for the next dropship or shuttle to land.
The passenger bay door opened, unfolding to become a ramp. Kat stepped down, and no sooner had she set foot on the Phoenix did Felix suddenly appear from nowhere, and grabbed the agent in an embrace.
"Kat!" he nearly shouted, before realising where they were, released her and took a step back. "It's good to see you, I mean," he said, sounding professional.
"Good to see you as well," Kat replied tiredly with a smile.
"You need any patching up before you see the commander?" Felix asked with a grimace as he said 'commander'.
"I don't think so, but can you handle these?" Kat asked, and held out the ten containment cards. Felix took them, and was taken back when he saw the bodies held within them.
"None of the Black Ops made it back," Kat sighed heavily, looking away.
"Not even Lissette?"
Kat shook her head.
"I'll take care of this, don't you worry about that," Felix said gravely. "You just get yourself to Beutat for your debriefing, and then come to see me."
"Will do," Kat said with another tired smile, before trudging off in the direction of Beutat's office, again not looking forward to it.
A good twenty minutes of tired walking later and Kat was again inside the briefing room. However, it wasn't packed as usual with people waiting for their meetings with the Commander. Instead, what caught her attention was the fact that security was being upped: a pair of Black Ops stood guard with their weapons held across their armoured chests, while two engineering crews set up a pair of heavy laser turrets on either side of the door, each to be manned by another pair of Black Ops. Frowning as she approached the door, one of the Black Ops held out his hand.
"Weapon and ID," he ordered.
Kat gave him a look as she dropped her pistol and ID into his palm and waited.
"Very well, you may enter. You can collect your weapon afterwards."
Kat nodded and proceeded to walk past them and into the room beyond, which was Betuat's office. As usual, the coffee-drinking Chimera Commander was sitting at his desk with his usual mug of coffee. And as usual, he didn't waste time at his attempts to seduce her.
"Kat, Kat, Kat, you'll never know how happy I am to see that you've pulled through that hellhole alive," he said with a big grin.
"The other two Black Ops teams were completely destroyed, sir, but Gruumm was apprehended," Kat said.
"Well, that's good," Beutat nodded, though Kat wasn't sure if he was talking about the Black Ops team or Gruumm's capture. "And he's under S.P.D. jurisdiction?"
"In a containment card, yes."
"And did you recover anything from him? Like a portion of a data disc?" Beutat asked, leaning forward, most likely in anticipation. Kat was about to give him his biggest disappointment though, and although she wouldn't say it aloud, she was looking forward to his disappointment.
"No sir," she said, and looked on with hidden glee as his face fell.
"All…alright then Kat, I don't think there's anything else," Beutat mumbled.
"May I leave now?"
"Permission granted, dismissed," Beutat said.
"Thank you sir." Kat turned around to leave, deciding not to question Beutat about the sudden increase in security around his door.
"Kat."
Grinding her teeth in frustration, Kat turned around and gave Beutat her best neutral expression.
"Yes sir?"
"Where do your loyalties lie Kat?" Beutat asked, sounding more serious than she had ever heard him.
"Excuse me sir?" Kat looked genuinely confused.
"Are you loyal to Chimera, me, or what?" Beutat rephrased his question.
"It lies with our principle: to protect this galaxy's citizens from harm," Kat answered.
Beutat nodded gravely. "Thank you Kat. You may go now. What we have just said is private, between you and me only."
"I understand sir."
Time: 1712 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Infirmary onboard Chimera Mobile HQ
"Vitals are normal, heart rate is normal, blood pressure and all of that is normal," Felix said, as Kat sat on the bed. "You're well."
"Thanks Felix," Kat said, before finding her gaze drawn to the body of Lissette, lying on the bed not too far from her own.
Felix followed her gaze. "She had a fiancé."
"What?"
"Lissette, she had a fiancé. Didn't she tell you?"
Kat shook her head.
"I imagine that she was going to tell you after that mission," Felix said sombrely. "Too bad she never got that chance. Here," he handed her a pair of pills and a glass of water, "take these, and rest. You need it."
Kat swallowed the pills, and downed half the glass of water. She fell back onto her bed, and began drifting off as the powerful sleeping agents worked their way through her system.
"Do you ever…get that feeling…that something is…wrong?" Kat asked, struggling to stay awake.
"Why?" Felix asked.
"I got that feeling…again…something's off…I just don't know what…"
"Rest Kat, rest. You can think about it later," Felix soothed, brushing some strands of hair off her forehead.
Kat didn't answer. She was already asleep.
Time: 1715 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Landing Bay 12, S.P.D. Central HQ, outbound from Akaih VII system
Unlike Kat, who had received a rather sterile reception with the exception of Felix, Bridge received what seemed like a rock star reception. As soon as the two dropships landed, and the two Ranger teams exited, dozens of other Rangers, technicians and engineers cheered wildly. Bridge felt his cheeks heat up, and he knew he was blushing from all the attention. The Rangers, having also demorphed, blushed, some more than others, and others not at all, waved back modestly into the crowd. A few even let off several streamers from the catwalks above, and it took the crowd a mighty long time to calm down and to get back to whatever they had been doing before their arrival.
Gruumm's containment card was instantly whisked away to the detention cells, where he was to be held until his questioning and before his trial. The team of Guardian Rangers escorted the two Rangers to the cells, while Sky and Syd, both on their lunch breaks, met Bridge.
"OhmyGod Bridge!" Syd squealed in delight as she flung her arms around him. "You're alive!"
"Not for much longer if you keep this up," Sky chuckled as he pried Syd off Bridge, before reaching over and clapping him on the shoulder. "Great job Bridge."
"Well, it wasn't just me…you have to thank Kat for what she did as well," Bridge blushed as the three of them began to walk out of the landing bay.
"But she isn't here, and so we only have you to thank," Sky smiled. "Now, as much as Syd would like to talk, Cruger wants to talk to you. Best not keep the old dog waiting."
"Of course not, not when he's top dog," Bridge said, laughing.
"If you two are through with the dog jokes now?" Syd said, smiling herself as well. "We'll meet you in the cafeteria after for lunch, Bridge."
"Sure thing, bye," Bridge waved as he turned in another direction that led to Cruger's office, while Sky and Syd went in another towards the cafeteria.
Looking out one of the windows as he walked along, Bridge saw the S.P.D. frigate Boundless flying lazy loops around the station. It had been the frigate which had taken him from Agasoi Prime, the location of Gruumm's secret fortress back to the S.P.D. Central HQ. Now its captain was simply waiting for its next patrol assignment, which would undoubtedly come after Cruger's meeting with Bridge.
Turning into the lobby, Bridge was instantly noticed by Lisa, who waved her arms frantically to get his attention. Of course, given how hard she was waving her arms, it was rather hard not to grab anyone's attention that way.
"Hey," Bridge greeted as he walked to the desk.
"How's my man?" Lisa said back coyly, looking up and batting her eyelashes at him.
"I'm very good, thanks for asking. I'll just sign in here, and be off on my way," Bridge said, signing his name before walking off down the corridor before Lisa had another chance to slip in another flirt attempt.
"Lunch in the cafeteria after?!" she called after him desperately.
"Sorry, someone else already offered!" Bridge called back, before disappearing completely into the corridor…and another person came up to Lisa's desk.
Some more walking later, and Bridge was outside the door to Commander Cruger's office. He tapped on the intercom, and as usual, Cruger's overworked aide's stressed voice snappily asked for his business. And after answering, and having his meeting confirmed, the door opened. Stepping past the poor aide, who was quite literally buried neck deep in paper, Bridge entered the room beyond.
Compared to the warzone that was his aide's desk, Cruger's desk was a scene of tranquillity, as far, far fewer sheets were stacked up, and it was much clearer. Of course, that may have been due to the fact that Cruger generally crammed everything else into the deep bottom drawer that his desk featured but was invisible to everyone standing in front of it. The letters from his wife alone (which he crammed into that bottom drawer, along with all of the current week's used and empty aspirin bottles) would've turned his desk from neat and tidiness into something that resembled his aide's desk. The Commander himself was reading through a report as Bridge entered and saluted.
"Commander," Bridge said. "Agent Carson reporting."
"At ease Bridge," Cruger grunted, putting down the report and looking up at Bridge. "How'd it go?"
"Gruumm was captured with no losses, except for the Black Ops teams that Chimera sent," Bridge said. "Also, I recovered this from Gruumm."
Bridge dug around in his pocket until he pulled out the portion of the data disc. He handed it to Cruger, who looked rather shocked at the sight of it.
"It's the real one this time, sir," Bridge said with a faint smile. "The one that Sky's team recovered and that I got from Valda was nothing more than a very accurate duplicate."
"Very good," Cruger breathed, before placing it back on his desk. "Looks like we'll have to secure it straight away, before anything else can happen to it."
"And sir…what happened to the missile that Gruumm was going to fire?"
"The Boundless recovered it, and even as we speak, it's being transported to a safe location to be dismantled and disposed of safely," Cruger said dismissively, as if it was the last thing on his mind. "Don't worry about it: it's no longer a threat."
"Alright sir…"
"And before I send you on your next assignment Bridge…take a day or two off. You deserve it," Cruger all but ordered, picking up the report he had been reading before.
"Yes sir," Bridge saluted. "Only too happy to oblige."
"Thought you were going to say that. Dismissed," Cruger said, reaching into his desk to retrieve another bottle of aspirin. It was rather amazing, given the amount of aspirin that Cruger consumed a day, that he hadn't eaten the infirmary and medical stocks out of aspirin yet. Ever since he had started to take the little miracle (at least, in his eyes) pills in large quantities, Syd had thoughtfully began to order extra stocks of aspirin in each monthly medical resupply, an order he was only too happy to sign off. And so, the stocks of aspirin remained within normal levels, Cruger remained happy, and all was well. At least, temporarily. What was to come would shake the foundations of everything that S.P.D. fought for and enforced, and would forever remain known as the galaxy's darkest hour.
Time: 1441 hours, galactic standard time, three months later / Location: Hallway A12-Section D, leading to Infirmary, Chimera Mobile HQ
"Another day, another assignment, another tick to my record," Kat sighed as she made her way through the halls of the Phoenix towards the Infirmary.
The last couple of months had been completely routine for her. Most of them were the standard 'get in, blow apart everything that needs to be blown apart, get out' kind of assignments, which compared to the high-stakes and high danger one that was tracking down and capturing Gruumm, were boring, to say in the least. There were no super-powered BlackGuard-like enemies, no huge masses of Krybots, no twists and turns in a dangerous metallic maze. It felt like she was working a normal 9 to 5 day job instead of a dangerous job as Chimera's top agent!
However, her latest assignment seemed so very suspicious: a small arms smuggling group based on Earth, whom she had orders to capture both the smugglers and the stocks. It also would've been her last assignment, if Jack and Z hadn't procured floor plans for the building. Aiola had strongly recommended to her to enter through a particular doorway, but after consulting the floor plan, she realised that that particular doorway led straight into a large room. She had found the easier route: the ventilation system, which also led into a small storage which led to the main room. Needless to say, she was rather shocked when she found that a pair of mounted lasers was covering the doorway that she had been recommended to go through. After that realisation, it was only a matter of about half an hour before she had captured everyone, and the dropship had picked her, the people she had captured and the cargo up.
While deemed successful, Kat was starting to have doubts cloud her mind. Why had she been recommended to go through a door that was covered by a pair of heavy lasers? Not even she could survive that. And how had the people there known that she was recommended to go through that door? No one had been at that briefing except for herself and Aiola…
She shook those thoughts out of her head as the door to the infirmary came up. She'd bring it up with Felix as soon as they could have a private conversation.
"Hello? Felix?" she called into the empty infirmary as soon as she entered.
When no answer came, she frowned, and continued to pick her way through the place.
"Look darlin', he's not 'ere," one irritated nurse told her.
"What do you mean?"
"'e got reassigned to some dumbshit planet, I dunno which. You can tell I ain't happy with dat, 'cos it burns a 'ell of a 'ole in our system."
"…right, well, thank you," Kat carefully said, wondering what the hell was happening.
"No problem, darlin'. Come back 'ere anytime you need patchin' up. Of course, without 'im around, it ain't gonna be as good," the nurse mumbled to herself as Kat left.
The agent's eyes narrowed as she remembered the only person to allow or block transfers…or to transfer someone themselves. With that in mind, she marched towards Beutat's office. The two weapon emplacements had been complete, and were manned by a pair of Black Ops, who currently were sitting aside. Another pair of Black Ops guarded the door leading to Beutat's office, and stopped the agent when she approached.
"Do you have an appointment with the Commander?" one droned.
"No, but I need to clarify with him something—…"
"You need an appointment in order to see the Commander," the other interrupted.
Kat sighed in frustration. "Look, just tell him that Agent Manx wants to ask him something. I'm sure he'll allow me a few minutes."
One of the Black Ops chuckled and smirked behind his helmet. "That's what they all say. Tell you what, Agent Manx…I'll do it, if only to see the look on your face when he refuses to meet with you."
"Fine."
Not ten seconds later, the Black Ops came back out. "The Commander will see you now," he reluctantly said.
"Thank you."
The door opened, and Kat stepped into Beutat's office once more.
"Sir," she saluted.
"At ease Kat," Beutat said, stopping whatever it was that he was doing, leaned back on the chair and looked up at her. "So, what did you want?"
"Where's Felix?" Kat asked simply, walking to and leaning over his desk.
"Felix…well, he's been reassigned," Beutat said with a nasty smile. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you where, for…security reasons."
"Of…course, sir. I understand," Kat bowed her head, before turning around and leaving outright. Her world had suddenly and inexplicably turned upside down. Without Felix, and with the deaths of everyone in Black Ops Team Alpha-Four and Gamma-Eight, she was left alone on the Phoenix, and friendless. Everybody now was a potential enemy.
Time: 1742 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Combat simulator deck, S.P.D. Central HQ
"And down he goes," Bridge mumbled, before raising his pistol and blasting the Krybot off the roof.
It fell in seemingly slow motion, before the rooftop, the sky and the Krybot began to disappear, falling into pieces as a stark white room began to take their places. Eventually, a white room took the place of the rooftop as the simulator was turned off.
"Twenty five Krybots, five and a half minutes. Score: two hundred and eighty seven, Bridge Carson," the female computer voice read out as a few people waiting for their turn whooped and cheered.
He blushed as he stepped out of the simulator, and the next group of Rangers went in, cracking knuckles in anticipation. Sweating all over from the exertion, Bridge decided to take a break in the showers. And that was exactly what he did.
Five minutes later, feeling refreshed once again, Bridge walked out into the suitably dull mood of the corridors. Dozens of officers and cadets walked past him, some nodding a greeting, others not even acknowledging his presence. Bridge sighed as he recalled the problem.
Supreme Commander Birdie Fowler.
Lately, the Supreme Commander had an unhealthy (for its occupants, at least) fixation on the S.P.D. Central HQ. It started out as occasional transmissions enquiring as to the station's general status, before a constant stream of messages, and then the occasional, sporadic visit, until finally, the Supreme Commander had decided to stay at the station for an unspecified length of time.
And everyone was starting to feel the burden of his command. No sooner had he announced that he was staying had he also announced that he was taking command of the station, with Cruger pushed aside and delegated to the role of 'secondary Commander and adviser'. While Cruger's command had been somewhat harsh, he knew when to give people breaks, and did not mind socialising amongst his subordinates…as long as they did their job. He also knew when people had done their best but still failed at something and therefore was more forgiving. Cruger's command had perhaps been the best that the S.P.D. Central HQ had seen for quite some time.
That all changed when Fowler took command.
If anyone on the station who had been with Cruger for any amount of time greater than four months was asked to describe Fowler's command in a single word, they would've said dictatorship or any form or variant of that word. Fowler ruled with an iron fist: he did not give people breaks between assignments, he did not accept failure, and he totally did not accept any form of socialising while on the job. It was a small surprise then that more and more began to feel the stress of his command, and each and every single one of them was starting to wonder when the Supreme Commander would go back to wherever it was he came from.
"Hey Sky," Bridge greeted as he ran into the Co-Commander in the halls.
"Bridge," Sky distracted mumbled, before continuing on his way, Bridge frowning and following.
"What's wrong?"
"Too many things," Sky muttered, hurriedly going in another corridor.
"Like what?"
"Fowler's barking up my ass with all these reports, I have to brief a team of Rangers on their next mission, I got another team of Rangers to train, and I have to supervise yet another team's simulation training to see if they're ready for full-frontline combat," Sky said, gritting his teeth.
"Sounds like a real handful. How's Syd?" Bridge asked, keeping up with Sky's pace.
"I've been caught up with so much work lately that I haven't had time to catch up with her," Sky replied.
"So we agree that Fowler's an asshole?"
"Most definitely yes. Look Bridge, I really got a lot on my plate at the moment," Sky sighed, stopping to face the agent. "I'll see if we can catch up sometime, alright? But not now."
Bridge nodded. "Alright…see you soon?"
"Yeah."
Just as Bridge was starting to walk somewhere again, Supreme Commander Birdie Fowler walked past him, and then stopped.
"Agent Carson!" he said, not turning around, but stopping.
"Yes sir?"
"Why aren't you on an assignment?" the Supreme Commander questioned.
"Because…I got back from one recently, and there hasn't been much going on," Bridge answered.
"Well, why aren't you at training then?"
"I just came out of the simulator a few minutes ago, sir," Bridge said, looking confused.
"Well, you better get back in there, agent. S.P.D.'s best agent can hardly afford to have time to rest or lounge around: you should always be on an assignment, or if there aren't any assignments, you should training," Fowler said with his 'hands' on his hips and his chest puffed out.
"…of course sir," Bridge tentatively answered. "It will be a bit hard to get back in the simulator. All of them are being used, and there are still people waiting."
"Well then, you had best hurry up, stop wise-cracking back at me and get in line before more people line up, don't you think?" Fowler smirked.
"Of course…sir." Bridge saluted before turning away and headed back to the simulator deck.
Outside the S.P.D. Central HQ, a small fleet of S.P.D. vessels had gathered. It was hardly a rare sight: the S.P.D. Central HQ not only functioned as a command centre, it also acted as a resupply point to the many vessels in the S.P.D. fleet. Some of those ships now were docked with the station, taking on supplies that the station carried specifically for the vessels that docked with it. However, only about half of those vessels that had gathered had captains who Cruger knew. The other half came from battlegroups that Fowler commanded. It was the same situation inside. As soon as he had taken charge, the Supreme Commander had began rotating out different Ranger teams to different bases, and bringing others in. It eventually came to a point that only twenty five percent of the Rangers that were stationed on the S.P.D. Central HQ had been part of the station's crew for more than a year, and the other seventy five percent came from S.P.D. Headquarters. Which explained why so few Rangers greeted Bridge as he made his way through the halls: so few of them knew him or vice versa.
While Bridge headed for the simulator deck again, the Supreme Commander headed the entirely opposite way, and not towards either the Command and Control Centre, or Cruger's office, or even his own office or quarters. Instead, he headed for the cells, and more specifically, the cell in which Gruumm was being kept. The prisoners who were deemed too dangerous were kept onboard the S.P.D. Central HQ, given how difficult it would be to escape. And even if they did get out of their cells and past the guards and quite literally an entire army of Rangers, they would still have to capture a shuttle or dropship to get off the station. Every now and then however, the prisoners were released from their containment cards and placed into cells. And for Gruumm, his time in the cells was now.
The Supreme Commander passed the various security checkpoints leading to the cells, displaying his ID whenever necessary and going through the various eye scans and DNA checks. Security around the cells was among the tightest in the station and indeed in this sector of the galaxy. Of course, given that the cells often held the vilest and most evil and cunning of criminals, it was more than understandable, and definitely justifiable.
Four of the Rangers broke off from their guard duty and began escorting the Supreme Commander, their weapons held across their chests. Incidentally, the Rangers who had chosen to be an escort were all Rangers that had come from the S.P.D. Headquarters, while the Rangers who had been stationed in the S.P.D. Central HQ for some time looked on confusedly. Was there some kind of un-stated rule that said that the Supreme Commander had to be escorted at all times by at least two Rangers? Then they shrugged and got back to guarding and manning the security checkpoint.
Into the deeper into the rows of cells, Fowler eventually stopped at a cell at the very end of the corridor, which a single Ranger stood in front of.
"Supreme Commander Sir…what're you doing here?" the Ranger asked, confused.
"Taking care of business," Fowler replied, his hand on his blade.
He pulled the blade out and across the Ranger's chest in one smooth motion. With a battle cry he swung it down diagonally, tearing a trail of sparks across the Ranger's suit as the armour reacted violently to the blade, and finally, he drew it across the Ranger's chest, sending him spinning backwards to the floor, where he lay still. As everyone reacted to the unexpected attack, the four Rangers who had followed Fowler turned about. Two of them dropped into a kneeling stance, their rifles shouldered, whilst the other two remained standing behind them. Before the other Rangers in the halls could do so much as shout in surprise, Fowler's Rangers fired. Lasers lashed down the hallway, blasting the other Rangers off their feet. The few Rangers manage to escape the first barrage by dropping to the floor, but they had barely managed to get off a single shot before they too were blasted away. One of the Rangers smashed his hand against the alarm, setting off the warning sirens and klaxons, before he too was gunned down.
"Open this door," Gruumm commanded from in his cell.
"Of course, Emperor," Fowler bowed his head, before turning to one of the Rangers who had come with him. "Open this door."
The Ranger nodded, and moved forward, placing a small explosive charge on the door.
"Stand back, Emperor," the Ranger recommended, before he too scuttled away slightly.
"Fire in the hole!"
A small explosion destroyed the locking mechanism on the door, and then he hastily shoved the door aside, allowing Gruumm to step out.
"Freedom," he sighed, before turning to Fowler. "Is our escape set?"
"It will be," Fowler promised, before pulling out his communicator. "All forces, execute Operation: Trojan Horse."
If the chaos in the cells was bad, then what happened next was catastrophic. Across the entire station, whole Ranger teams suddenly turned on their fellows, and blasted them. A trio of Ranger teams was making their way to the cells when the transmission was heard.
"What the hell?" the Red Ranger of one team said confusedly, before the other two squads turned their rifles on them, firing at point-blank range. Similar happenings occurred across the entire station, as Ranger teams found themselves confused and unsure of who to fire back at.
In the Command and Control Centre, the doors opened as Commander Cruger strolled in, absolutely livid.
"What the hell's going on?" he barked, as the various officers and cadets attempted to piece together the situation.
"We don't know sir! I'm getting reports of our Rangers firing on each other across the whole station!" one officer shouted over the noise of sirens and klaxons.
"There's been a breakout in the cells! I'm not getting any response from the guards!"
"The armoury guards are reporting that they've got Rangers advancing and shooting at them!"
"Where's Tate?" Cruger bellowed.
"Working on it sir!" the communication's officer shouted.
"We're getting requests for orders from squad leaders!" another shouted.
"Put it on the main console!" Cruger ordered.
Dozens of holographic boxes floated up from the main console, each one displaying the helmet of a Red Ranger, who all desperately asked for instructions and orders. Lasers were firing in the background with the occasional explosion as grenades (at least, Cruger hoped they were grenades: anything bigger than one tended to do far more than simply scorch the walls) detonated. Eventually, Cruger noticed pattern: all the Rangers asking for orders came from the station. That meant…
"Rangers! Supreme Commander Fowler's Rangers have rebelled! Defend the station!"
"Yes sir!" they all replied, having a better idea of what was going on.
"Gnack, relay what I just said to all of the Rangers who haven't been reassigned to the station," Cruger ordered.
"Yes sir, doing so now…" the communications officer said. Cruger looked around at the entire staff and reassured himself that no-one here was going to turn their backs on him. Luckily, Fowler had not reassigned any of the S.P.D. Central HQ's Command and Control Centre officers/cadets.
The doors to the Triple C opened, and six Guardian Rangers stepped in, rifles raised.
"Commander Cruger…" the leader asked.
"I don't have time to be questioned whether I'm in on this or not!" Cruger snapped at them. "I need all the time I can get to get this mess sorted out and form a cohesive resistance before this…disaster can get any worse!"
"Sir," the six snapped to attention, now assured that Commander Cruger was not rebelling.
"Get me Carson," Cruger ordered. He prayed like hell that Bridge wasn't part of the rebels. While he could be overwhelmed, Bridge had the uncanny ability to yank victory from the jaws of defeat.
"Sir?" Bridge's voice came over the speakers. "What's going on?"
"Bridge, where are you?"
"I'm pinned down near the landing bays sir. Who's shooting who? I mean right now, I'm just shooting back at whoever shoots at me!"
"We've identified who's one of us and who's a rebel," Cruger revealed. "It appears that all of the Rangers who Fowler reassigned to this station are the ones who are attacking us!"
"And how do I exactly find out who's been reassigned to this station? I mean, we all look alike! Wait, hold up a minute sir."
A laser was fired, presumably from Bridge, and they heard the answering scream.
"So how do I identify them?"
"We're getting the Rangers on our side to start changing their ID codes. Be on a lookout for that, and I'll alert them that you're on our side."
"Thanks boss: I don't wanna shoot any friendlies by accident."
The line closed, and Cruger sighed. The Guardian Rangers had taken it upon themselves to defend the Triple C, setting themselves up across the room but facing the heavy bulkhead doors.
"Where's Tate?" Cruger demanded.
"Still working on it," one of the officers said, wiping sweat off her brow.
"Alright…time for the old dog to get back in the action," Cruger muttered to himself. He strode over to his desk in the Triple C, and once there, grabbed the Shadow Sabre that was placed on a rack in a case behind his desk.
Securing it around his waist, Cruger flexed his fingers around the handle. It felt good to have his trusty sabre in his hands again: he was easily the most proficient swordsman (or dog, in his case) and duellist on the S.P.D. Central HQ. But it had been years since he had taken up arms…
"You and you," Cruger growled, pointing at two of the Guardian Rangers. "Follow me. The rest of you, keep everyone out, no one in unless you are absolutely sure of it."
"Yes sir!"
The door opened, and Cruger stepped out, his two Guardian Rangers following with rifles raised and at the ready. He had been in more than his fair share of battles in his day as a soldier, back on Sirius, before moving onto a command position. He had seen the battles (or at least, the aftermath of them and the recordings) from his chair, and even commanded a few in his early commanding career, before taking on the position as S.P.D. Central HQ Commander (and therefore, the Commander of the field troops on a galactic scale). But just because he hadn't been in battle for a long time didn't mean he could dish out the pain. Oh no, Anubis 'Doggie' Cruger was going to make sure that the rebels wished they were never born.
Time: 1759 hours, galactic standard time / Location: Bridge of S.P.D. Destroyer
Captain Steele gritted his teeth as his destroyer's guns fired another salvo into the side of another S.P.D. frigate that was attacking his ship. The guns tore up the armour on the frigate badly, and the frigate desperately attempted to limp away, before a second salvo obliterated it. Such was the brutality of space warfare. Even wounded, a frigate still packed enough firepower to seriously damage his ship.
"Hanks, what the hell's happening?" he demanded.
"I'm still no sure sir, but it appears that a portion of the fleet has gone rogue!" his communications officer shouted.
"Tactical, what's our situation?"
"All systems are green, skipper! We've sustained minor damage, but nothing of a serious concern!"
"Sir, sir! I've got Commander Cruger on the line!" Lt. Hanks, the communications officer excited shouted.
"Put him through!" Captain Steele ordered.
"All S.P.D. forces, the units under Supreme Commander Fowler's command or have been reassigned to this station because of him are rebelling! They have released Gruumm from his cell! Stop them at all costs! You are authorised to use lethal force on any form of opposition and they will not hesitate to do the same!"
"Alright, you heard the old dog! Power all weapons systems and somebody get me a list of what ships had been assigned here by that treacherous bastard of a Supreme Commander we have!" Captain Steele ordered. "Get every single Ranger team we have on this ship over to the S.P.D. Central HQ, and I mean now! The boys over there are probably going to need a lot of help!"
Fifteen minutes later, the battle finally was starting to become clearer. With the list having been discovered minutes ago, the ship's that were rebelling became clear, and the ship's that were staying loyal also became clear. And having distributed the list amongst the other loyalists, the rebels no longer had the advantage of surprise.
Then the entire battle was turned on its head once more.
"Sir!" one of the officers on the bridge of the Alexis shouted.
"What?" Captain Steele demanded.
"Some gigantic ship has arrived!"
Outside, an enormous nine hundred metre long monstrosity of a spaceship had arrived. Bristling with weaponry, and with a giant-sized Chimera logo painted on it, it could be only one thing as it stayed near the edge of the battlefield.
"Sir! It's the Phoenix!"