Disclaimer: Power Rangers Time Force and all related logos are property of Disney and/or Saban Entertainment. I am using them without permission. KJ Sheldon, Lt. James Emery, Trinity Oliver, Camille Summers, Leo Claw and the "Omega Project" are property of yours truly.
A/N: This fic takes place about a week after the end of Future Shock II.
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~~~
The sun was beginning to set as they walked along the beach hand in hand. The summer's winds blew through her hair, and reflections of the sun light bounced off the water. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen before.
They stopped, turning to one another.
His entire life, all he'd ever known was pain, was death, was disappointment. But she was the only real thing that brought joy into his life, and he was determined to be with her the rest of his life. His friends were convinced that he was much too young to feel like that, that it was simply a crush. They were sure that sooner or later, he'd snap out of it and he'd move on. But that wasn't the case. It had been nearly two years now, and he was as much in love with her now as he was when they met.
They would be graduating from the academy soon, and were convinced that they'd be stationed in different departments, making it difficult to see one another. He was a soldier; no more, no less. She was a scientist, one of the brightest Time Force had to offer. It was only a matter of time before their circumstances separated them, but he refused to leave their future to fate.
"I love you," he told her.
"I love you too Alex,"
"Once we get out the academy, I'm going straight to the Time Force police. Commander Logan says I'm a natural, and he's recommending me for the Chrono Morpher project," he said.
"I'm so happy for you,"
"But I don't want to lose you. If I take this assignment, I might not get to see you again," he said.
"You're being melodramatic. We'll see one another, just not as much. I'm hoping to be assigned to the special projects division," she said.
"I know we're young, and I know your parents may not approve, but…" he dropped to one knee, staring upwards with a single tear in his eye.
"Oh Alex," she cried, realizing what was coming.
"I can't picture my life without you. I love you, and it is my sincerest wish that you will do me the honor of being my wife," he said, opening a small box.
She stared down at the diamond, watching as the sunlight reflected off it. "Yes Alex, I will," she cried.
He stood up, and she wrapped her arms around him. The two of them simply stood up as the sun set, knowing that their love with last forever.
He opened his eyes, only to find himself in his office. 'Damn it,' he mumbled inwardly, hitting the desk with frustration. It had been years, and though he tried to push it to the back of his mind, he still remembered that moment like it was yesterday.
As soon as they graduated from the academy, each of them got the assignments they wanted. She was sent to the special projects division, and he was giving the Chrono Morpher. They planned the wedding to the final details; they knew exactly how everything was going to happen.
Then it happened…
"So, this is what you do all day long," Alex said as he walked into the room, getting a good look at the place. It was the first time he'd gone down to the special projects division, and he was impressed with what he saw.
She hurried over to him. "Hey baby, I don't get off for another ten minutes.
I'll be ready after I run a level three diagnostic on this power cell and we
can get going," she told him.
He nodded slightly, and she returned to her work.
'Commander Logan to Alex. Red alert, outer security has been breached,' a voice said.
Alex reached for his Morpher. "How many intruders?"
'Unknown. There's seems to be a dampening field in place. Our sensors can't get a lock on them, but I know there are at least a dozen intruders headed for your position,'
"I'll be ready," he said.
"Oh God, what's going on?" she asked him.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it," he got in position. "TIME FOR, TIME FORCE," he called out, transforming himself into the red ranger.
Moments later, someone kicked in the door and a group of men stormed in. Alex was able to fight out two of them, but another group of men broke through the ceiling, aiming disrupter weapons at her head.
"Stand down ranger, or your girlfriend gets it," the man said.
Reluctantly, Alex powered down, allowing the other men to grab him, putting his arms behind his back. "You know you'll never get away with this. I'll find you, where ever you go," Alex told him.
"Sir, we have the information we were looking for," one of them men said, walking over to them with a disc in hand.
"Excellent," he turned to Alex. "Say goodbye to your bitch," he snapped as he activated a transporter beam, disappearing.
"NO," Alex screamed, falling to his knees as the soldiers escaped.
They tried to trace the transporter signature, but with no luck. Alex even mounted a rescue effort, but came up empty handed. Even after Time Force declared her missing in action and gave up their efforts to find her, Alex continued on. Finally, after six months of searching, she was declared legally dead. After that, Alex closed himself off from the rest of the world. He went to work, did his job and went home. No more, no less. He vowed never to get close to anyone else. 'When I do, people tend to get hurt. Or worse,' he thought to himself. It was a philosophy he'd followed for years…
… until he met Jen.
Once Jen came into his life, everything changed. He abandoned his philosophy about not getting close to anyone, and again, things turned out badly. He vowed that he would never fall in love again, that the emotional attachment was simply a distraction in the work place. 'Maybe when all of this is over, maybe when the universe is safe I'll find time for a girlfriend,' he thought, but knew that the day where the entire universe was safe would never come.
It was at that moment that he made his decision; he knew what had to be done. He leaned forward, turning on his computer. "Alex to rangers, meet me in the observation lounge in ten minutes," he said as he stood up, slipping on his deeply tinted sunglasses, then walked out the office.
~~
He walked into the observation lounge where each of them rangers were lined up, standing at attention. Each of them had done their part a million times over to save the world, to ensure the safety of the people, to preserve the time line, and he knew he could trust any one of them with his life.
"At ease," he said, allowing them all to relax. "Rangers, we have been passive for too long. Until this moment, we'd always waited for our enemies to make the first move, and then we make our move and save the day. No more. As of right now, we're on the offensive. We're making the first move. We're going to end this business with Univex and Chyro Tech once and for all," he told them.
"What did you have in mind sir?" Tommy asked, speaking for the group.
"KJ was constructed at Chryo-Tech, so certainly she should have some knowledge of the layout of the building. I'll use that information to storm the building, and plant these," he said, holding up a small device.
"A isotropic bomb? That has enough explosives to…" he cut Katie short.
"To destroy everything in the building, I know. That's the plan," he said.
"With all due respect sir, I know we have issues with Chyro Tech, but is destroying their entire base of operation and killing everyone inside really your answer for it?" Lucas asked him.
"I'm not heartless Lucas, I don't plan on killing anyone. An isotropic bomb will have no effect on anything biological, but will destroy every machine, every device and every piece of technology in the building. That will be enough to leave their organization crippled," he explained.
"What about our morphers? If we're in there when that bomb goes off, they'll be destroyed as well," Trip brought up.
"That won't be a problem. None of you are going,"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going alone," Alex said.
"What?"
"If this bomb goes off and any of you are near it, the morphers will be destroyed. Besides, with the levels of radiation the bomb emits, teleportation will be impossible. I'm going alone," he repeated.
"I can't allow you to do that, sir," Tommy said.
"You can't stop me, Commander,"
"Actually, I can. You're a member of the counsel; you have no business out in the field. If you decide that this is what you want to do, I'll have Dr. Young deem you mentally unstable and have you confined to the infirmary for physiological evaluation. It'll be six months before you're deemed fit to come back to work," he told him.
"You wouldn't,"
"I would if I had to," he said firmly.
"So what do you propose Commander?" he asked.
"We'll all go. We'll break up into small groups, storm the building in sections. We get in, do as much damage as we can, then get out of there," Lt. Emery said.
"They might set up a dampening field," Katie mentioned.
"If they do, it'll work to our advantage. With a dampening field in place, they won't be able to figure out which one of us has the bomb. By the time they do figure it out, it'll be too late," Trip added.
"Very good. Katie, I want you to talk to KJ, see what she knows about the interior of Chyro Tech. We'll use that to get in. Once we do, Katie, I want you and Emery to get into one of their labs and try to download as much of the information as you can. You never know, they might have some useful information for us. Nadira, I need you and Lucas to do as much damage as you can when we get in there, that should keep them distracted. Alex and I will plant the bomb and get out of there," Tommy explained.
"So does that mean you won't have a job for me?" they heard a voice say.
They turned around and saw Adam as he walked into the room. "Oh my God, Adam?! Dr. Young released you?" Katie asked.
He nodded. "Clean bill of health, and I'm itching to get back to action," he told them.
"Good, you can come with Alex and I. We'll need the back up," Tommy said.
"Sounds like you've got this all planned out," Alex said, folding his arms.
"Of course, with your permission, sir,"
"Oh no, it's a good plan. Katie, find out what we need to know and we'll meet back here in one hour," he said. "Dismissed," he said.
One by one, each of them walked out the room.
~~
"Hey Adam, wait up," Katie called out.
Adam stopped, allowing Katie to catch up. Once she had, they headed for the elevator together. "Hello Katie," he sighed.
"I'm glad you're okay. I was worried about you," she said.
"I'm fine, really,"
The two of them stepped on the elevator, and the doors closed behind them. "Listen, I've been trying to find a way to tell you that…" he quickly cut her short.
"Katie, this is my first mission in a while, and I need to stay focused on it. When this is all over, we'll sit down and talk all this out. Okay?"
She sighed. "Okay,"
The door opened, and he stepped out. "For the record Katie, I missed you," he said, just as the doors closed again.
"I missed you too," she sighed.
*
Originally, she simply requested a place where she could regenerate once every 72 hours, but Alex insisted she had quarters of her own. The room was just that, a room. There were no pictures on the walls, no furniture, simply a regeneration chamber up against the wall in the corner of the room. There was a desk on the opposite side of the room with a computer, but that was it. The walls were a pale gray metallic color, and the floor had been stripped of its rug, revealing a cold, metal floor.
"KJ, you in here?" Katie asked, walking into the room and looking around.
Just then, the door to the regeneration chamber opened, and she stepped out. "Katie. Have I miscalculated and missed a scheduled appointment?" she asked.
"No, not at all,"
"I do not remember you ever visiting me in my quarters. Did you come to kick back and take a chill pill with me?" she asked.
"You really need to stop picking up slang from Ensign Clark," she giggled. "This is a nice place you've got here. A little on the plain side, but nice," she said.
"Thank you. Counsel Member Collins insisted that I be given quarters, but I am unsure why. As of late, he seems to be displeased with me," she mentioned.
"Naw, Alex is just like that. You get use to it,"
"He told me I reminded him of someone he knew, yet I am unsure of who that might be,"
"I have no idea," she paused. "Listen KJ, I need your help," she said, changing the subject.
"Anything I can do to be of service,"
"We're storming Chyro Tech and we need any information you may have on the lay out of the building, security protocols, schematics, anything that may be helpful," she said.
"I am afraid that most of my knowledge from Chyro Tech was contained on the memory engrams that were removed from my sub processor. I have been working on a program to recover the information in my spare time, and I believe I may have may come up with a way to retrieve the lost data," she told her.
"You've been working on it already? Why?"
"I wish to retrieve the memories on those engrams so I will know what is it like when we were friends," she said.
"Were friends? KJ, we are friends," Katie assured her.
"You have told me many times that I resisted my own programming to do what I believed was right, to save my friends. I have no knowledge of these events, and I am curious to know how such a thing could happen," she walked closer to her. "Right now, you are my superior officer, nothing more," she said.
"Is that the way you really feel?"
"You misunderstand. I am incapable of feeling anything. I am merely basing this on your actions. You act a certain way with your friends, and in another manner with me. I am not offended by this, I am simply a machine," she said.
"You are more than a machine KJ, you're a Time Force cadet. You're my friend, just as much as anyone else here," she told her.
"Thank you Commander, I am most grateful for your kind words. I will report to the infirmary and continue my work on the memory engrams. When they are complete, I will contact you," she said, making her way towards the door.
"Thanks KJ, for everything," Katie sighed.
"Is that not what friends are for?"
Katie smiled.
*
Tommy walked into his quarters, where Jen and Amanda were sitting in the livingroom. Amanda quickly rose to her feet, saluting.
"Commander," she said firmly, standing at attention.
"At ease Mandy," she sat back down. "Jen, can I talk to you a second?" he asked her.
"Of course," she turned to Amanda. "I'll be back in a sec," she stood up, following Tommy to the far end of the room. "What's up?"
"Alex and I are leading a mission into Chyro-Tech to put an end to Univex once and for all," he told her.
"When?"
"In about ten minutes. If this works, we'll never have to worry about Chyro Tech again," he said.
"And if it doesn't, you'll be killed,"
"No one is getting killed Jen,"
"You can't promise me that,"
He shook his head. "No, I can't, but this is something I have to do. We all knew the risks when we joined Time Force and accepted these morphers. I have a job to do, and I will come back to you," he said.
"You promise?"
"Yes, I do,"
"You better," she leaned up, kissing him warmly on the lips. "I love you Oliver,"
"I love you too Scotts-Oliver. Take care of my baby until I get back," he said.
"You know I will,"
Tommy nodded at Amanda, then headed out the room. Jen walked back over to the couch, sitting down across from her sister.
"What was that all about?" Amanda asked her.
"He's going on a mission, he just wanted to tell me goodbye," she said.
"Is he going to be gone long?"
"Mandy, its best that you don't ask so many questions. You're still a cadet, and there are still things you aren't suppose to know," Jen reminded her.
"But I'm your sister, and if someone is wrong, you should tell me,"
"I can't, not when it comes to Time Force. Our personal lives and professional lives have to be kept separate," she said.
"But they aren't separate. My brother-in-law is going off on some mission, and from the look on your face it's a dangerous mission. You can level with me Jenny," she insisted.
Jen sighed. She knew that sooner or later, she was going to have to send her sister on a mission, and shielding her from the dangers of those missions would only hinder her chances of surviving. 'She's proven herself, maybe I can tell her,' she thought.
"Mandy, I need you to find Khalil and Sasha. I've got a feeling something is about to happen, and I'm going to need your help," Jen told her.
"You're giving us a mission?"
"Just carry out your orders. Once you've found everyone, bring them here and go over the plan with you," she said.
Amanda stood up, saluting. "Yes ma'am," she said eagerly, rushing out the room.
"And so it begins," Jen sighed.
*
"You wanted to see me sir?" Lucas asked as he walked into his office.
Alex was sitting at his desk, as usual. "Yes Lucas, come in for a second," Lucas closed the door behind himself, sitting down in front of the desk. "First of all, I want to say thank you for accepting my offer. Right now, the rangers are going to need all the help they can get, especially if we're going to get out of Chyro Tech in one piece," he said.
"I'm just glad to be back in the game, sir, but wouldn't we be much better off if we had a pink ranger as well?" he asked him.
It had been so long since they had a pink ranger, Alex had almost forgotten about it. "True, but a candidate hasn't been selected yet. I'm confident that the right person will come along though," he said, removing his deeply tinted sunglasses.
As soon as he did, Lucas was able to get a good look at him. It was obvious that Alex was under a lot of stress, but there was something more, something Alex was trying to hide.
"You okay Alex?" he inquired, tacitly dropping their ranks.
"Yeah man, I'm fine. Its just important to me that this mission goes exactly the way I planned it," he said.
"I understand,"
"Lucas, I have something to tell you. Out of everyone here, you have been in Time Force the longest, and I believe you can be trusted," he stood up. "There are operatives in Time Force, at least two of them, and I believe at least one of them will be going on this mission with us," he said.
"An operative? For Chyro Tech?" he asked.
"Yes. Someone has been sending transmissions to Chyro Tech, but using our own carrier waves. It's a good plan, but easily traceable. I believe whoever the operative is is covering their tracks, but leaving enough clues for us to find them," he said.
"But why?"
"Chyro Tech wants something. I don't know what yet, but I'm not going to give them the chance to get it. By now, one of the operatives has contacted Chyro Tech and informed them that we will be storming the building, so they'll be ready for us. By now, I know the superiors at Chyro Tech are aware of my plan to plant an isotropic bomb, so they'll be expecting it," he said.
"So why are we going through with it if you know they'll be waiting for us?" Lucas asked.
"Because I have a plan for them," Alex told him.
~~
Preview: … a good offenceNext time on Parallels II: Alex sets his plan into motion, and the Chyro-Tech operative is revealed in a bloody showdown.
~~