Author's note: This chapter contains portions of Aftermath and is partially in first person POV. Dream portions are suppose to appear in italics, but my ff.net messes it up during the upload. Hope it doesn't confuse anyone. Enjoy.
"You'll be pleased to know that she's coming along very nicely. I can't explain it, but her body seems to be healing itself," he mentioned.
"But how?"
"Like I said, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with her unique physical make up. According to all my tests, Katie is human, but I can't account for her added strength and healing abilities. Maybe its something genetic, something in her family's bloodline. All I can tell you is that I've never seen anything like it before. If she had been any other person, jumping out a plane like that would have been suicide," he explained.
"When will she wake up?"
"I don't know. According to the tests, she could open her eyes at any moment, but she isn't ready to. If I had to take a guess, she's dreaming," he said.
"About what?"
"I have no idea, but her heart rate hasn't risen and her pulse is steady. So, based on what I know, it isn't a bad dream," Dr. Young said.
~
"Oh honey, we're all so proud of you," my mother said, kissing me on the forehead as she wrapped her arms around me.
"Come on mom, I'm only a cadet. Don't send me flowers yet, I still have two years to go before I'm officially in Time Force," I reminded her, not that it meant anything to her. If you were to ask her, I'd be a full fledge captain straight out the academy and in control of my own unit.
"You'll do just fine Katie," she said.
"Do you need any money?" my father asked, reaching for his wallet.
"No, I'll be fine. Tuition pays for most of it, I'll be okay," I said.
"Are you sure honey?"
"Yes daddy, I'll be fine. I promise," I sighed.
My father was always over protective of me. Even when I was younger, he was constantly watching over me. It was probably because I was his only little girl, or it could have had something to do with my "special abilities". Before me, my parents had three boys, so not only was I the only daughter, I was their youngest child. Growing up, momma was the one who allowed me to be semi-independent, but daddy was determined that I was his little girl the rest of my life. I never got mad, I knew he meant well.
"Do you think you'll get to meet any power rangers?" my brother asked as he walked into the room with a suitcase in each hand.
Khalil was my youngest brother, but still older than me by a few years. My other two brothers were much older than Khalil and I, so we related to each other a little better.
"I doubt I'll meet any of the rangers, I'm just a cadet," I mentioned… again.
I was saved by the bell when, outside the house, we heard a car horn blow. Khalil peeked out the window. "Its them, it's the transport," he said.
"Well honey, this is it," my mother said, wrapping her arms around me again. This time my father joined in too.
"I'll call you guys as soon as I get there and settle in," I promised.
My father opened the door for me, first letting Khalil out with my bags. I was surprised that he didn't follow me out the transport. The driver got out the bus, opening the cargo doors in the back of the bus, allowing my brother to put my bags in.
"I guess this is it sis," he said.
"Don't you go gettin' all emotional on me too, this is hard enough for me," I said.
"I'm not. Just take care of yourself," he told me.
"I will,"
Khalil stood in front of the house and watched me as I got on the transport, taking a window seat. I knew he would never admit to it, but there was part of Khalil that was jealous I was going to the academy and he wasn't. He'd applied two years in a row, and each time they turned him down. He planned to go this year, but never got around to it. I was just as surprised as anyone when I got my acceptance letter in the mail.
As the bus drove away, I watched Khalil until finally, I couldn't see him anymore.
(*)
"This is amazing," Dr. Young said as he went over the analysis in the medical bay, comparing it to the readings on the machinery.
"What is it doctor?" Nadira asked as she walked in the room wearing her Time Force uniform. She'd never admit it, but she loved the way it clung to her.
"The rate of cell reproduction is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Its almost ten times faster than any human I've ever seen," he said.
"Well, Katie isn't all human. She's part Ether," she said.
He paused. "I think you mean Ethros, but not even an Ethros demon had that kind of cell regeneration. There has to be something accelerating the regeneration process," he said.
"Like what?"
"There's a lot we don't know about the Ethros race, and from what I remember, they're not exactly the friendliest race in the galaxy," he mentioned.
"I wonder how Katie's mom hooked up with an Ethros in the first place," Nadira brought up.
"According to her files, Katie's mother was an Ethros. Her father was human," Dr. Young told her.
"Daddy dealt with the Ethros once, they're not the most attractive race in the universe. I still don't know how it could have happened," she said.
"I guess we'll never know," he said as he glanced over at Katie, who was still motionless on the examining table.
(*)
I sat on down at the first seat I came to, letting out a sigh of relief. The bus itself was full of other would be cadets on their way to the academy as well; some human, some not. I opened the window for some air and closed my eyes as I leaned back, trying to relax before we got there, still unsure of what to expect when I arrived.
"Leave me alone," I heard a voice say, but tried to ignore it.
"I don't even know how you got accepted into Time Force. I didn't know they let freaks in," another voice said.
"I am not a freak, I'm Xybrian,"
"That's even worse, you wanna be physics make me sick,"
Finally, I stood up and turned around, trying to find out what the problem was. There was an Xybrian sitting two seats behind me, and a Myzerian sitting next to him. He wasn't the first Xybrian I'd seen before, but he was definitely the smallest. Like most Xybrians, his hair was green, and he had a jewel in the middle of his forehead. Myzerians, on the other hand, were known as a very aggressive race.
"Just leave me alone," the Xybrian repeated.
"Not until you…"
"I think the kid said leave him alone," I said.
The Myzerian looked up at me. "Just stay out of this bitch," he snapped, turning his attention back to the Xybrian.
He swung at the Xybrian, but I caught his arm, throwing him down to the floor. Everyone on the bus watched on as the Myzerian got back to his feet, staring at me with contempt on his face. "The Xybrian is off the hook, but your ass is next," he snarled.
He lunged at me, but I side stepped him and gave him a push, sending him face first through the window. Before he could move, I let the window up, trapping his head outside the bus.
"Now when I let you out, you're going to apologize to the kid and sit in your seat, aren't you?" I asked him.
"You're out your damn mind," he screamed.
I let the window up a little more.
"Aren't you?" I repeated.
"Yes," he managed to mumble.
I let the window all the day down, and as the Myzerian regained his composure, he walked towards the Xybrian. "Sorry dude," he mumbled, walking away.
"Are you okay?" I asked, turning to the Xybrian.
"Yeah, I good. Thanks," he said.
"No problem," I said, sitting back down in my seat and closing my eyes.
Before I knew it, the Xybrian got up, sitting down next to me. I looked at him with a goofy ass look on his face.
"I'm Trip, from Xybria," he grabbed my hand, shaking it. "I'm the first Xybrian ever accepted into Time Force, so this is a big deal for me. My mom says that I should expect people to be upset about it, but not to let it bother me. I got a full scholarship from my high school, and I'm going to major in temporal mechanics," he said.
I was beginning to see why the Myzerian had been harassing him. "That's nice," I sighed.
"What's your name?"
"Katie," I moaned, not even opening my eyes.
"Very nice to meet you Katie," he paused, and I thought the senseless babbling was over, but he continued. "Do you know what classes you're going to have?" he asked.
"No,"
"Can I see your schedule?" he asked.
Again, without opening my ass, I reached into my jacket pocket and handed it to him.
"Oooh, we both have Lt. Commander Logan for temporal mechanics, that should be interesting," he said.
"Yeah, I'm thrilled," I sighed, realizing that I wasn't going to be getting any sleep before we got the academy.
(*)
Alex had been standing in the doorway for a while, debating on whether or not to go in. Dr. Young encouraged him, saying that talking to Katie while she was asleep was actually therapeutic, but he wasn't sure he was the right person for the job. 'Its not like Katie and I were actually friends. We just worked together,' he thought to himself.
It was something that had eluded him his entire Time Force career. Sure, he graduated with honors; he was one of the youngest Lt. to be promoted to Lt. Commander, then to commander only a 18 months later. He was the first to test the red Chrono Morpher and he was given complete control of temporal investigations. There was no doubt he was one of the most decorated officers in Time Force history, and he was respected by everyone he worked with, but that was as far as it went.
Jen and the others had a friendship that transcended Jen's official rank of captain. They all listened to Jen because they wanted to, not because of obligation. They trusted Jen, and he didn't doubt for a moment that any of them would give their life to save her. Even during his short stint as leader of the group, he didn't get the feeling that they liked him very much. Even though it was for the best, in the end, they chose Jen.
There was no one to blame but himself. He'd always gone out of his way to isolate himself from the others. In a sense, he didn't want to belong. 'I have a job to do, anything else would just be a distraction,' he thought, but now, in retrospect, he realized just how wrong he was.
He walked into the medical bay, sitting down in the chair next to the bed, simply watching as Katie slept. "On your feet Lt, that's an order," he said.
There was no response.
He sighed inwardly. "I didn't think that would work, but it was worth a try. Dr. Young said that you're almost completely healed, and he can't explain why you're still asleep. You've got a lot of people worried about you Kathryn, so snap out of it," he said, this time reaching over and grabbing her hand.
Still, no response, but this time, even though her eyes were closed, Alex could tell that her eyes were moving.
"She's still dreaming," he sighed.
(*)
I sat outside the commander's office with a lump in my throat. I'd seen it too many times before; someone gets called into his office, and you'd never see them again. The commander didn't exactly have the friendliest reputation, and he never called anyone in his office for good news. Still, I wasn't sure what I could have done to upset him.
I'd just graduated from the academy, and even though I didn't do as well as I'd liked to, I was still one of the top ten in my class. With the exception of being late for curfew a couple times, there was nothing on my permanent record, so I was baffled when I got a call from him saying he wanted to see me.
"Cadet, could you come in please?" I heard him ask.
I nervously stood up, making my way into the office, only to see that I wasn't the only one there. There was a woman there, with brownish blonde hair and an insincere smile on her face. Next to her was Trip, the Xybrian. It took me almost a year to learn how to tolerate that kid, but now, we were the best of friends. I don't think I would have made it through the academy without Trip sitting up with me for those cram sessions. And lastly, there was another guy there. I'll admit, he was attractive, but even from first sight I could tell the guy was full of himself, constantly picking at his hair.
"You wanted to see me sir?" I mumbled.
"Yes, have a seat," I sat down in the only empty chair in front of his desk, which just happened to be next to Trip. "Ms. Taylor, I'd like to introduce you to Jennifer Scott," he said.
I nodded slightly. Now that he'd mentioned her name, I remembered seeing her before. During target practice, I'd noticed the commander giving her a few "pointers". We all suspected that he had a thing for her, but none of my classmates were gong to mention it to him.
"Alex…I mean, Commander Collins says you graduated in the top of your class," she said.
"Yeah," I sighed humbly.
"Also, this is Lucas Kendall," the commander said.
"Hey," he mumbled.
"Hey,"
"And you already know Trip," he said.
"Oh yeah, Katie and I got way back," Trip said.
"Everyone, this is Kathryn Taylor. I've asked the four of you here because you'll all considered experts in your respective fields. Lucas, you're an excellent pilot, I've heard you can drive anything," he nodded, accepting his compliment. "Trip, you graduated with honors in temporal mechanics. I'll admit, that was my toughest class in the academy. Katie, you have a degree in criminal physiology, and from what I hear, was able to hold your own in a debate about the death penalty against Captain Logan. Not a small feat. Jennifer, you're a crack shot have mastered tactical scenarios. I believe that together, the four of you will be a formidable team," he told us.
"Team? What kind of team?" I asked.
"All of you are aware of the mutant threat. Time Force needs good officers out there to help us clean up the streets and maintain control. What I'm offering each of you is full instatement into the Time Force criminal unit. Under Jen's leadership, the mutants won't have a chance against you," he said.
"Will we have morphers?" Trip asked.
I was embarrassed for him that he asked with such an eager tone in his voice, but all of us wanted to know. Hell, we'd all heard the rumors about four more morphers being created after a successful test run with the first one, and we all wanted the chance to become rangers.
"No you will not. There is only one active Morpher in Time Force, and its mine. Granted, all of you are good, but you're still wet behind the years. Do you know how long I was in Time Force before they offered me the chance to work with the Chrono Morpher?" he paused. "All of you will be part of a special criminal investigation unit, if you choose to accept," he explained.
"I'm in," Jen said eagerly, standing up, and then staring over at the rest of us.
Lucas finally stopped picking with his hair and stood up. "Me too," he said.
"I'll do it if Katie does," Trip said.
I thought it was sweet that Trip was waiting to see what I'd do, but sometimes I wished he would make his own decisions. Ironically enough, if Trip had said no, I would have turned it down too.
"I'll do it," I said.
"Me too," Trip announced.
"Then it's settled. The four of you will meet me here tomorrow morning at 0900 hours for briefing," the Commander said. "You're dismissed, but Ms. Scott, if you could stay for just a moment,"
The three of us stood up and headed out the office, leaving Jennifer alone with the commander.
"You'd think they'd try to make it a little less obvious," Lucas said.
"What?" Trip inquired.
Leave it to Trip to be the last one to know.
"Jen and the commander are… an item," I told him.
"What makes you think so?"
"I thought you Xybrians could see stuff," Lucas brought up.
"We can,"
Lucas rolled his eyes. "I'll see you and your green haired boyfriend tomorrow at the briefing," he sighed, walking away.
"Why does he think we're together?" Trip asked.
Even I had to roll my eyes. "Come on Trip, let's go," I said, walking away.
