An SPD squad car pulled up on main street and Commander Sky Tate and Jessi Parks stepped out onto the sidewalk. Almost immediately there was as buzz from passersby as they caught sight of the officers. Unfamiliar with the attention, Jessi tensed and her hand instinctively reached for her weapon. A firm hand from the deca ranger instantly released her tension, "Easy there Tex", he whispered, "you'll get used to this". The nova ranger nodded and the pair continued on their walk down the street. Jessi couldn't help but keep an anxious eye on everyone. She wasn't used to walking out in public dressed in her SPD uniform. Back when she was part of Dino Charge Their identities were a closely guarded secret. Tensions between law enforcement and the general public were still at an all time high and the risk of reprisals was too great of a risk.
The further they continued, Jessi couldn't help but marvel at the ease that Sky dealt with the attention. The deca ranger offered a quick smile to those that addressed him directly and to Jessi' eye, he appeared to be revelling in the attention. At one point a young boy stopped the SPD Commander by grasping at the helm of his long jacket. The youngster couldn't have been any older than ten, "Hey there kid", Sky crouched down so he was at his level, "I hope you're behaving yourself for your parents".
"I am so sorry", a man caught up to the two officer, wheezing slightly , "Dale what have I told you about running off", he scolded the child.
"No harm done, right Dale", Sky ruffled the boy's hair. He spotted a phone in the child's hand, "Tell you what, fancy a quick picture to show your friends?" The boy nodded enthusiastically, "Give your phone to your Dad and he'll do the rest". The SPD Commander looked up and caught Jessi's eye, "To make it really special, why don't we invite SPD's newest team member to join us", he said with a devious glint in his eye.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea Sir", Jessi hissed back through gritted teeth.
"Nonsense Officer Parks", Sky's voice practically danced with mischief, "can't disappoint our young fans, can we?" Jessi grumbled under her breath and reluctantly crouched down next to Sky. She offered a tight lipped smile which contrasted with Sky's broad grin. Almost the second the picture was taken, she hopped back to her feet and resumed her eagle eyed search for potential hidden danger.
Sky bade the child and his father goodbye and the two officers continued their tour of duty. They walked in silence for a few minutes, a rather uneasy silence at that. Eventually the SPD Commander couldn't take any more of the silent treatment from his partner, "You're unhappy with something?"
Jessi bit her tongue for a couple of moments, trying to avoid saying something that would make the rest of the patrol awkward. After thinking long and hard she responded, "Why me", she sighed, "so many better candidates then me".
"Oh?", Sky replied, "you think your not good enough".
"Yeah", Jessi snorted, "I wasnt trained for battle, or cuddling small children and taking pictures for their Instagram account". She snorted again, "Plus who honestly buys their child a top of the range smart phone, I wasn't allowed a phone until I started High School".
Sky playfully nudged her in the shoulder, "Easy there Grandma, you'll break your rocking chair". Jessi flashed a withering glare at her commander, not too happy that she was the one getting teased. "Obviously I can't speak for Cruger but with Grumm gone, there's need for the shock and awe tactics of the past. Maybe what this city needs is a cuddlier version of SPD to help heal the wounds of the past".
"Grumm's not the only monster in the world Sir", Jessi said with a resigned sigh, "the wounds that Hexagon caused won't be healed with smiles and selfies".
"You just don't switch off do you?" Sky retorted, "and who or what is Hexagon, never heard of it before".
Jessi gaped, almost disbelieving that Sky hadn't heard of Hexagon before. She knew that surely SPD would've had files on the turmoil of 2014. Nevertheless her Ranger history classes at SPD should've covered that period, unless someone in Command had airbrushed that time out of the lessons. "Let's just continue with our mission", Sky mumbled and carried on walking.
The soon to be Nova ranger's mind was still whirring about Sky's admission fifteen silent minutes later. Who had taken the decision to remove any references to Hexagon from the curriculum and would it have any bearing on her personal mission? Suddenly she bumped into Sky's back, her thoughts had been so busy that she hadn't noticed the SPD Commander had stopped moving,
"Landors and Samuels Clothing Emporium", Jessi read out loud. It took her a few moments for the name to click inside her head, "Landors? As in Jack Landors?"
The blonde haired co-owner was arranging a display outside and greeted the SPD Commander warmly, "Hey Soy, didn't expect to see you here". The smile quickly fell from Ally's face when she saw the sad expression on Tate's face, "He's in the manager's office", Ally stated. Sky gave her a half smile in return, Ally always knew when something was wrong.
Sky didn't even bother to knock on the manager's door and was greeted by a startled Jack hunched over the desk surrounded by paperwork. The moment he set eyes on Sky he let out a loud sigh.
As Jack opened his desk draw Sky shook his head, "Think I'm going to see something stronger than that today", he slumped into the chair opposite Jack.
The former red ranger frowned and opened another draw, pulling out a small silver flask, "Russia's finest, courtesy of Piggie". Sky frowned, knowing the reputation of Jack's alien partner, "Don't worry it's legal", Jack chuckled and pushed the glass of clear liquid over to Sky.
Sky took a sniff at the glass but whatever was inside was completely odourless. He took a small swig and almost instantly the back of his throat began to burn, "Jesus Christ Jack", he coughed, "that's like liquid fire".
"And people criticised President Trump's close relationship with the motherland", Jack smiled. Over the next few minutes Sky went into a detailed explanation of the recent events. Since Jack was a civilian he would only have the presses account of things.
There was a long silence as Jack thought about the situation. Before their conversation could continue the office door opened. At first Sky thought it was Ally but to his shock, it was Supreme Commander Cruger, "Commander Tate, this doesn't look like your office " he barked. Sky was too tired to stand up and give him a proper salute, merely waiving vaguely in his direction, "At ease", he snorted sarcastically, "we'll deal with this later but right now, I have some business with your friend".
"Me?" Jack pointed at his chest, "Look Commander I'm out of SPD, have been for a while". He then began to frown, "If it's about that last shipment that Piggy brought it, I promise you it was from a legal source".
"I'm not here to talk about Piggy", Cruger began, "actually I'm not here to talk to you at all".
The Commander stepped aside and another man entered the office. Sky immediately recognised him as Supreme Commander Andros. Jessi began to get up but the older man waived her off, "Please Officer Parks stay seated", he began, "I know the last 24 hours have been hard on you".
"Getting shot at by someone you thought was on your side, that hurts you more mentally than physically", she commented.
A sad look crossed Andros's face, a look that suggested he knew exactly what she was going through. He soon shook it off and turned his attention to Jack, "I know you've been out the business for a while Jack but I've come to make you an offer".
Jack raised an eyebrow at the Supreme Commander, "Is this a financial offer, if it's not then I'm not interested".
"Landors", Cruger growled, "show a little respect".
"At ease Doggie", Andros smiled, "of course Jack will be financially compensated if he accepts my offer".
Sly and Jessi watched Jack's face carefully, they could almost see the grey cells in his head working away, "I'm listening", the former red ranger answered.
Andros smiled warmly, "Thank you", he began, "since Officer Parks is here then Commander Tate's probably already told you about our secret project", Jack nodded as Jessi scratched her head nervously, "it wasn't a secret Jessi so don't worry about that" Sky said, Andros smiled," we need your help".
"Why me?" Jack asked, a little surprised by Andros's offer, "and what would I need to do?"
"You have experience and the tech we have on offer requires someone with experience", Andros replied nonchalantly, "for the rest of the briefing, you'll need to come with us to Delta Base".
There was a brief moment when Sky thought Jack was going to reject the offer, however, "Lead the way", the former red ranger stated. As Jessi followed the others out of the cramped office, she wondered if recruiting Jack was the best idea.