Author's note: On June 6th, there was a problem at fanfiction.net and all the reviews for chapter 48 were deleted. Some of you have reposted your reviews, and I appreciate that. We're also approaching 200 reviews for Parallels, and to celebrate, there's going to be a huge crossover event. I'm debating whether or not to make it part of the series, or to have it separate from the series but still part of the PR universe. R&R.
Gaby appears courtesy of Cmar!
~
Alex stood in the doorway of the science lab as Camille and Trip continued with their work. He couldn't help but admire them; they'd achieved what most couples can only dream of: the ability to work together smoothly without it interfering with their personal relationship.
He recalled being with Jen, and how it was always a conflict of interest. He was her commanding officer and she was his subordinate. Although she never said anything, there was always a slight tension between them because of it.
That wasn't the case with Trip and Camille, the two of them seemed to have a continuity to them that be envied. 'My relationship with Jen may have worked if we had been more like them,' he thought.
"What did you find?" Trip asked, turning to her.
"I've been reading up on the history logs and I've determined that a high level explosive, maybe a cobolt device with high density would be enough to take out that generator," she said.
"Cobolt? That could take out half a city block. Don't you think that's overkill?" he asked.
She shook her head. "It's the only way to make sure the secondary modules don't activate themselves. Trust me, I've done the math, this is the only way," she sighed.
"Open a channel to Jen," he said.
Camille reached over to another control panel, inputting a sequence of numbers. "Open," she said.
"I wonder how she got the red chrono Morpher to work for her. It was encoded to Wes' DNA, and since we know they aren't related, it shouldn't be active," a voice said.
"I have a theory," Camille said, talking into the speaker.
'I knew you would sooner or later. What can you tell me Camille?' she asked her.
"I've been doing some reading on that time frame. After Tommy and the other red rangers defeated the Machine Empire on the moon, one of the surviving generals found his way to Earth. A small research found him after he crash landed on Earth and spent years trying to repair him. Because of "other projects" they'd been working on, they were able to repair and re-activate him," Trip explained.
'And the general turned on them, right?'
"Yeah, but it's a little more complex than that. The same company that repaired the general also found the remains of another robot years before that, it is was their research on that robot that allowed them to repair the general," she said.
"Another robot? Which one?" Jen asked.
"Frax," she told her.
'But Frax was destroyed,' she pointed out.
"Yes he was, but he memory core was still functional. After both Frax and General Gerrock were revived, they launched an all out assault on the city. They were successful in capturing and altering Silver Guardians, changing them into half human, half machine drones. According to the logs, most of the city has been altered thanks to them," Camille explained.
'And with Wes and Eric captured or hurt, Trinity had to step in as the red ranger,' Tommy added.
"Exactly. Because of the work Bio-Lab did with the Quantum Morpher, they were able to reset the red chrono Morpher, allowing Trinity to use it. There are other former rangers scattered throughout the city doing what they can to help, but its been a losing battle. I read ahead in the logs, and unless something happens within the next 36 hours, the entire city will be converted into cyborgs," she told them.
'What can we do? If there really are that many, there's no way we can take them all out,' he mentioned.
'Besides, they're still human. We don't want to destroy them if we don't have to,' Jen pointed out.
"Trip and I have a theory that if the main generator that controlled the cyborgs were shut down, the people would regain their memory and be able to fight against Frax and General Gerrock," she said.
'Great, all we have to do is find the generator and shut it down. How hard can that be?' she asked.
"Remember, Frax is from the year 3000 as well, so his defenses will be a lot tougher to get into than you think. I'm sure the generation has heavy security, not be mention defense protocols built into the circuitry to prevent anyone from tampering with it," she said.
"Can't we just destroy it?" she asked.
"Jen, this is Trip again. We thought about just destroying the generator, but it has secondary backup modules to prevent that. To take out the generator and all the backups, it would take an explosion large enough to take out the entire building," he said.
'Fine, send us what we need,' Jen said.
"It isn't that simple. The explosives would have to detonated manually, which means someone would have to stay with the bomb to ensure that failsafe protocols didn't deactivate it," he said.
'You're saying one of us has to die,' Tommy sighed.
"I'm afraid so," he sighed.
'The two of you find a way to get us the explosives. We'll worry about everything else when the time comes. Jen out,' she said.
"Channel closed," Camille said.
"The slipstream is still down, so we'll have to send someone in a time ship with the explosive," he said.
"I'll go," they heard a voice say.
They turned around as they saw Alex standing in the doorway.
"How long have you been there?" Camille asked.
"Long enough to know that someone has to die in order to save the past. I intend to use the cobolt device myself," he said.
"What part of 'you'll be killed' aren't you getting?" Trip asked.
Alex walked over to them, taking off his deeply tinted sunglasses. "I haven't always been honest with you guys, and there were times when it was the right thing to do, but this time isn't one of them," he paused. "I was contacted by Admiral Summers today. She told me that Jen was going to die in the year 2015," he said.
"What?"
"I'm assuming that Jen will decide to activate the cobolt device herself to save the city, but I intend to stop her," he told them.
"Aren't you running the risk of altering history?" she asked.
"If it will save Jen's life, so be it," Alex said.
Camille stood up. "I'll get you what you need. Meet me in shuttle bay seven in twenty minutes," she said.
"Thank you Camille," he sighed, walking out the room.
(*)
Eric opened his eyes slowly, but his vision was blurry. All he could see were blurred images, and the more he tried, the more his head began to pound. Finally, he let out a frustrated sigh, doing his best to roll over. He fell off what he could only assume was an examining table, trying to get back to his feet.
His ribs ached, his head pounded, and his knees were weak. He managed to get back to his feet, but as he stood up straight, his legs gave out and he fell.
He wasn't sure who, but someone caught him from hitting the ground, helping him back onto the examining table.
"Who…" he tried to mumble.
"Shhhhhhh, you need to rest," a voice said.
Despite the fact he couldn't see a thing, he recognized the voice right away. "Ga…Ga…by?" he inquired.
"Yeah, its me sweetie," she said warmly, putting a warm towel on his forehead.
Eric tried to think back, trying to recall what happened. 'There was a battle. The Silver Guardians were there, and Frax,' he remembered, but the rest was still a blur to him.
"Tell me… what… happened…" he said, trying to take a firm tone with her.
"I swear, even on your death bed you're a stubborn asshole," she sat down on the edge of the examining table. "About a week ago, General Gerrock and Frax attacked Bio-Lab headquarters. You and Wes did your best to hold them off, but you were seriously injured and the Quantum Morpher was damaged beyond repair. You've been here ever since," she told him.
"Where… is… Wes?"
"He tried to get back into Bio-Lab to contact the Time Force rangers to help us, but he never came back. We have to assume he's…" she was cut short as Eric sat up.
"No! We have to go in after him," he groaned.
"You don't have to do anything but rest. You're no good to use like this. Trinity has the Wes' Morpher and she's been doing pretty well. Besides, Theo is with her," she told him.
"TJ's kid? The world is doomed," he mumbled.
"Like it or not, Theo and Trinity are the best chance we have right now," Gaby sighed.
(*)
"Okay you guys, we need a plan," Jen said as the three of them sat around the control panel inside the time ship. Across from her was Tommy, and next to him was Adam.
"I've been able to determine where Frax and General Gerrock are. They're in the Chryo Tech building on the edge of the city. Censors say that the building is heavily guarded by a group of robots," Tommy said.
"I could just switch on my cloak and go in there with the device," Adam brought up.
Jen shook her head. "I thought of that, but your cloaking technology would neutralize the cobolt device as soon as you turned it on. Besides, your cloak would allow you to walk through walls, but not the device. What we need to do is get in there without their alarms going off, get near the generator and set off the explosive," she said.
"But if we can't use the cloak, how are we suppose to get in there undetected?" he asked.
Just then, one of the panels began to blink and an alarm went off. Adam rushed over to the panel, going over the readings. "Proximity alert, someone is coming," he said.
"Can you give us a visual?"
He pushed the button, and cameras outside the time ship showed her making her way over the hill and towards the ship.
"It's Trinity," Tommy said.
"I'll go talk to her, see what she wants," she said.
Tommy stood up. "No, I'll go," he told her, making his way towards the exit.
~
It was an awkward moment for Tommy, standing face to face with her. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things he wanted to ask. 'But now isn't the time,' he reminded himself.
"You guys are still here," Trinity mentioned, breaking the silence between them.
"You can't scare us off that easily," he said.
"Good," she paused. "I know I was a bitch earlier, but I wanted to say…" she was cut short.
"No worries, I understand,"
"If we don't do something soon, Frak and Gerrock will take over the entire city, and there won't be anything we can do about it," she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I need your help," she sighed.
"That's what we're here for,"
Just then, a vortex opened in the sky just overhead. Moments later, another time ship emerged from the vortex, landing next to the first one. Tommy and Trinity watched on as the hatch opened, and he stepped off the ship.
Trinity got a good look at him. "Wes?" she inquired, but she noticed there was something different about him. His hair was darker, and slicked back. He didn't have the beard she'd gotten use to, and he was wearing a Time Force uniform.
He walked over to the two of them. "Lt. Oliver," he said, saluting Tommy.
"Sir," Tommy said, acknowledging him.
It was at that moment that Trinity looked at Tommy, staring him up and down. Suddenly, it occurred to her. 'Why hadn't I noticed it before?' she wondered.
"Daddy?"
