Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Hasbro, or Saban, or Disney, or, really, anybody but me. Otherwise, SPD would've gotten a second season easily AND a Mystic Force crossover ;)


CHAPTER FIVE

Luna hopped up on a chair and pulled her ponytail into a pile on her head so it resembled a spike. "So help me, Cadet Tate, if you don't kill us all first-"

Sky snorted at the high-pitched squawk. Jack snickered, and the others tried desperately to hide their laughing behind their hands.

"If you don't kill us all first, I will meld that laser rifle to your hand and glue your finger on the safety!" Luna used the hand not holding her hair to mock holding a rifle. "Now, you owe me a mile- and don't you drop that rifle!"

"Sounds like Syd her first week of Basic," Bridge teased.

"I didn't want to break a nail!" Syd protested. "I'd gotten them done right before I started!"

Z shook her head with a smile. "Only you, Syd, would get a manicure to celebrate basic training!"

"Hey, I dyed my hair pink," Luna replied, letting her hair drop. "We all handle things differently," she grinned with a wink at Sydney. "I mostly did it to make Birdy Fowler mad."

"Birdy Fowler?" Jack asked.

"He's the guy in charge of the galactic fleet, like Cruger's in charge of planetary defense," Sky explained.

"He's a bird," Bridge said casually, so flippantly that Jack had to do a double take to make sure he'd heard what the Green Ranger had actually said.

Sky looked at Luna. "How did Fowler respond to that?"

Luna flipped her ponytail behind her head. "Psh. I got a dirty look, but that was about it. It's not like he could kick me out or anything," she shrugged. She stuck her hands in her armpits and flapped her arms. "Cadet Oliveira, you will dye your hair back to a normal color or so help me, I will stick you out on the battlefield and use you for target practice!" she cawed. "Your hair's so bright, I could use it as a flare!"

The Rangers burst out laughing.

"May I remind you that you are in an SPD control room?" a voice boomed through the noise, cutting all of the Rangers off. Silence filled the room immediately. The five Rangers and Luna turned to see Doggie Cruger enter the room, closely followed by Dr. Manx. His dark eyes narrowed at the six young people.

Sky was the first to speak. "Sir, we meant no disrespect," he began, knowing it probably wasn't wise to try to talk his way out of it. He was already on Cruger's list.

Cruger took a step toward him, towering over Sky, who was the tallest of the cadets. "If you cannot comply with my request," Cruger growled at him, "then I suggest you take your childish behavior elsewhere."

Sky clamped his mouth shut, feeling his ears turning red. Next to him, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Luna looking at her godfather, her face a mix of anger and confusion.

"You can't talk to us like that," Jack spoke up suddenly, and Sky blinked. Wow. Did not see that coming.

Cruger turned to face the Red Ranger. "Standing up for your squad, Jack? It's about time you finally took on your leadership role." Jack bristled under Cruger's gaze, and Z put a hand on his arm to keep him from saying anything else.

Cruger stared Jack down, but Jack didn't say anything. "Now," Cruger barked, "why don't you lead your team out of my sight?"

"I guess the painkillers wore off," Bridge muttered under his breath to Luna.

Luna glanced over at Kat. If Cruger had been made her godfather, then Kat Manx was unofficially her godmother of sorts. "Doggi- Commander," Luna said hastily, "it's not their fault, I was just telling them about-"

Doggie rounded on her. "As soon as I can make arrangements, you, Cadet Oliveira, are on the first shuttle back to Ceres V," he informed her.

Luna glared at him. "Yeah, I missed you too," she said sarcastically, following the Rangers out of Ops.


B Squad and Luna met back in Sky and Bridge's room. It was a stark contrast to the room the girls shared. Sky's side of the room was put away with military precision. Bridge's was…less so, but neither one of them had much for personality on the walls or beds. Jack took a halfhearted swing at the punching bag that was strung up between the two beds. Sky flopped down on his bed. The others filed in. Bridge hopped on his bed and squeezed up near the headboard so that Z could sit next to him. Jack leaned against the wall, and Syd and Luna took spots on the floor between the beds. Luna leaned her head back against Sky's bed.

For some reason, her hair looked really tantalizing, Sky noted. It would be so easy to run his fingers through it-

"So, is it just me, or did Cruger become totally uncorked?" Z exploded.

"Maybe they implanted him with a new personality at the hospital," Syd suggested, blowing a strand of her blonde hair off her forehead. She unzipped her uniform jacket and slipped out of the sleeves.

Sky sighed. "I mean, I'm not agreeing with the way he handled it," he said, earning him a Look from everyone else in the room.

"I'm pretty sure I literally heard him bark," Jack pointed out.

"I mean, he is Sirian," Luna replied. She picked at her fingernails. "I'm sure this is on me, guys," she said finally. "He's not thrilled that I left the academy to come back. It was stupid of me to think that he'd be happy to see me and things would just go back to normal."

"This isn't on you," Sky said adamantly. Luna shot him a grateful smile, but it didn't make her feel better.

"If anything, it's on Sky," Jack said. The Blue Ranger sat up straighter and eyed Jack. Jack shrugged. "I mean, you did almost get him killed."

"You know what-"

"Maybe it's fleas."

The statement from Bridge came out of nowhere, and it was so out of left field that Sky and Jack stopped arguing and both turned to the Green Ranger. Bridge played with the Velcro on his gloves as he explained, "My bulldog got fleas once. He was grumpy for weeks."

"Yeah, maybe they gave him flea and tick medication instead of painkillers for his gunshot wound," Luna played along with a wink at Bridge.

The group laughed, but it was an uneasy one.

A knock at the door startled all of them, and they all looked up to see Kat Manx in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" she asked them softly. When Jack nodded, she stepped inside, letting the door slide closed behind her.

"So what's going on, Kat?" Sky asked finally.

Kat looked around at the cadets. "Some of you already know what I'm going to tell you," she began. "I'm sure Cruger's never taken the time to tell you about his history," she said to Jack and Z. "And with everything going on, I'm sure it's never come up with your teammates."

Kat perched lightly on the edge of Bridge's bed, and Z slid over to make room. "Years ago, before any of you were even a thought in your parents' minds, there was a race called the Troobians, led by Emperor Grumm. The Troobians were bent on conquering as many worlds as they could…and one of those worlds was Sirius."

"Cruger's home planet?" Z guessed.

Kat nodded. "Right. Commander Cruger was in charge of the defense forces but….well, in the end, he lost everything." She looked around at all of them in turn. "I know it doesn't excuse his behavior but…I just wanted you all to know that it does have something to do with his current…mood."

"But that battle was decades ago. What's it got to do with anything now?" Luna questioned.

Kat looked down at her. "Let's just say…recent events have brought up old memories for Doggie. Ones he's never quite figured out how to deal with."

"So this is my fault," Luna said quietly. She leaned back and closed her eyes. This time, Sky did reach down and put a hand on her shoulder. "I knew coming back probably wasn't a good idea, I just…" She took a breath, steadying herself. "I just was so tired of being alone. And I never got to tell my father goodbye, so when Doggie got shot, I…" Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "I couldn't handle that happening again."

Kat shook her head. "This is not your fault, Luna. This is an ongoing problem that he's going to have to confront, once and for all. Hopefully," she added, getting off the bed, "he deals with it sooner rather than later. For your team's sake." She started toward the door, then paused. "Until then," she said, and here she gave them all a smile, "just keep doing what you're doing."

"Being childish?" Sky said, but he was only half joking.

Kat shrugged. "Seems to be working so far," she pointed out. "A month or so ago, you five couldn't even stand to be in the same room together," she reminded them. "Look at you now."

She distinctly saw Sky shoot Jack a Look, but didn't press it. "I better get back to work," Kat said. "Just remember," she said as an afterthought, looking specifically at Luna, then around the room, "it's not you."

Sky squeezed Luna's shoulder. She leaned into his hand. It felt a little comforting.


Piggy's was bursting at the seams with customers that evening. The alien's plastic lawn chairs and secondhand card tables were crammed with customers.

Sitting off in the back, Broodwing lazily stirred some kind of slop that Piggy had declared the 'soup of the day,' making a solid vow not to put whatever it was anywhere near his mouth. Piggy was good for information, but not for digestion.

A tall human figure pulled out a chair and sat across from Broodwing, surprising the arms dealer. Most humans knew to stay well away from him, and the ones that didn't were clients of his. The human had close-cropped dark hair and serious eyes. He was wearing a thick black jacket and pants.

The flash of red in the human's eyes and the utter lack of fear in his expression told Broodwing this was no ordinary human. "Emperor," he said. He eyed Grumm critically. "You look like one of those pesky SPD cadets. You'd fit right into their color-coded crew."

Emperor Grumm quirked his mouth into a sneer. "I am no less capable of destroying you in this form compared to my regular form," he reminded Broodwing

All politeness now, Broodwing said, "What brings you to this fine establishment?" He waved a winged hand over the disgusting premises.

"I am offering you a chance to be useful," Grumm told him. "The materials you acquired for General Benaag are being put into place as we speak. I have come to oversee their placement personally."

"I see that, Emperor," Broodwing nodded. "And so what of my usefulness?" he inquired.

"The acquisition of these materials, they put you on SPD's radar," Grumm told him. "A rather persistent SPD officer was on your back for quite awhile, was he not?"

"Oliveira," Broodwing said. "I warned him to stay away. He paid for his persistence."

Grumm nodded. "Indeed," he said. "However. Your carelessness that evening turned up the heat, as the humans say."

Broodwing shrugged. "They'll have to catch me first."

"Your arrogance will be your downfall," Grumm told him. "You'd do best to take care with that," he warned. "You are a direct link to me and my plans…a link I can easily cut if I feel it cannot hold a plan together."

Broodwing inclined his head. "And so what are your orders, Emperor?" he questioned.

"Benaag has…history…with Commander Anubis Cruger," Grumm explained. "And I understand you have it with his goddaughter, Oliveira's daughter?"

"I do."

"I need Cruger out of the way for the next twenty-four hours, Broodwing. Is that something you can handle?"

"Perhaps," Broodwing suggested, "were Benaag and I to work together, we could kill two birds with one stone, as it were."

Grumm's human form smiled darkly. "See that you do."


Author's Note: Two thousand words gets to be a lot to read, so I had to keep breaking this two parter up into readable chunks ;) More of "Shadow" to come!