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.
Please take a moment to review. I live for reviews!!
~~~
"You sure you want to go through with this Alex?" Camille asked him as he walked into the room, making his way over to her.
Since taking over the lab on deck three, Camille had made noticeable changes. Things were much more efficient, and there was more equipment along the walls. It seemed as though there were fewer scientists on duty, but when he received the progress reports from their department, they showed significant advancements with many of their projects. He was convinced that having Camille lead up the science department was one of the best decisions he ever made.
"This is something I have to do, I don't expect any of you to understand now important this is," he told her.
"I understand how important it is, but that doesn't justify this suicide mission," she pointed out.
"I told them this is something I had to do alone, but they all insisted on coming with me. I figured if I didn't let them come, one of them would hit me in the jaw again," he said with a giggle.
"We can't have that," she walked over to one of the workbenches, picking up a phaser riffle. "I thought I'd help you out a little. It's a suicide mission, but this will help you do a little damage before you eventually die a horrible death," she handed it to him. "It's a standard issue phaser riffle, but I've equipped it with a multi-phased plasma core. It should give you an infinite supply of power," she explained to him.
Alex grabbed the handle, and then watched as the lights along the side of the phaser lit up. "You're brilliant, you know that?"
"So I've been told," she picked up another device, handing it to him. "This is your standard cloaking unit, but because of the high levels of radiation coming from your isotropic bomb, cloaking would be impossible. This one has been modulated to work on the same frequency wavelengths as the radiation, so it will allow you to cloak, but only for about 60 seconds," she told him.
"Good work Camille," he sighed.
"One more thing. I know that teleportation will be all but impossible as long as that bomb is active, but I managed to rig site to site teleportation unit. Once activated, it will teleport you back to Time Force, but because of the radiation, the teleportation will have a 6 second delay," she said, handing him a small device.
He took a moment to glance at it, amazed that something so small could really do what she told him it could. It was no bigger than quarter, and almost transparent. "If I ask you how this works, will I get a headache when you explain it?"
"Probably,"
"Do you think you can rig me another one of these? I may need more then one," he said.
"I can handle it,"
'Tommy to Alex. Come in,' a voice said.
Alex pulled a communicator out his back pocket. "Alex here. What is it Tommy?" he asked.
'We're ready down here. Have you heard anything from Trip and KJ yet?' he replied."No. I'll contact them, then meet you in the observation lounge. Have Lt. Emery get down to hanger five and prep the M.A.V. II," he said.
'You got it. Tommy out,'
*
Trip simply stood to the side, amazed at how fast KJ was able to input calculations into the computer. Her fingers were a blur, and screens of information flashed across the screen as she worked, most of it so fast that he wasn't able to understand any of it.
"Amazing," he sighed to himself.
"There is nothing amazing about it. I am simply attempting to retrieve the data on these memory engrams using a program that you and Camille once designed," she brought up.
"I didn't mean to interrupt you, I'll be quiet," he said.
"I am capable of multitasking, performing over several hundred functions at once. My speech protocols take only a miniscule amount of memory to perform, thus, I am able to talk to you and continue to work without interruption," she told him.
"I see," he paused. "How much damage was done to the engrams?" he asked her.
"There is only 31% damage, but most of it is concentrated in the areas we need to access. Most of the memory will be irretrievable, but I am sure the schematics for Chyro Tech will be retrieved," she said.
"I'm sorry,"
"I do not understand,"
"I know you were looking forward to getting back some of your memories," he said.
"As Commander Taylor has pointed out, I do not need those memories to know that I have made friends here," KJ said.
"We all consider you a friend KJ,"
"And I like to consider all of you friends as well," she paused for a moment. "The data retrieval program has been successful, over 90 percent of the data has been recovered," she said.
"The schematics?"
"Yes, there are detailed files on the on the layout and the interior of Chyro Tech, but there is something wrong," she said.
"What?"
"I would have to run several diagnostics on the emgrams to be sure, but it would appear as though information has been added to these engrams after they were removed,"
"How is that possible?"
"It should not be possible, there is no record of such a thing ever being done. It would take an incredible amount of knowledge about my primary and secondary sub systems to achieve such a goal," she said.
"Is there anyone here who would have the know how to pull it off?"
"There are only a few: Ms. Summers, Dr. Hamilton and myself," KJ said.
"Who had access to them to alter the files?"
'Alex to Trip. Come in,' a voice said.
Trip reached for his Morpher. "Trip here. Go ahead Alex,"
'Have you and KJ been able to get any information from the memory engrams?' he asked.
"Yes sir, we have, but…" he was cut short.
'Get it down to the observation lounge, we'll meet you there. Alex out,' he said.
"We'll have to save the diagnostics until we get back," he said.
"I believe it would be prudent to do the diagnostic now to ensure that…" she was cut short.
"I know, but you know how Alex can be. If he says he wants it now, he really means yesterday," Trip told her.
"I see," she sighed.
"Come on. As long as we have the schematics for Chyro Tech, the rest of it can wait," he said.
KJ powered down the computer, removed the memory engrams and followed Trip out the room.
*
'The M.A.V. mark II,' Lt. Emery sighed as he walked into the main hanger bay, simply taking a moment to admire it.
The Mobile Assault Vehicle was his own design, but during his academy days, he lacked the know-how and expertise to build one himself. It was shortly after he was given the Silver Chrono Morpher that Alex granted him permission to oversee the construction of the M.A.V. Granted, the scientists in the special projects division deviated from his original plans slightly, thus the name mark II, it was, in essence, his creation. It was big enough to hold at least ten officers, and equipped with state of the art sensor equipment. On each side of the vehicle were twin rotating phaser cannons, which could be controlled either by the driver, or by the systems in the back of the vehicle.
He climbed inside, sitting at the driver's seat, which was contoured to fit him. "Computer, begin preparation sequence," he said.
'All systems are operating within expected parameters. Beginning preparation sequence,' the computer answered. As a personal touch, the computer voice was modeled after his ex-girlfriend in the academy.
It was the first time the M.A.V. mark II would actually be taken out into the field, but he was convinced everything would go smoothly. 'I hope,' he sighed.
*
Each of them sat at the table in the observation lounge as KJ stood at the head of the table, turning on a small monitor. The screen blinked on, and a blueprint appeared on the screen. "This is a blueprint of the interior of Chyro Tech. As you can see, there are security camera along every access point, including the training grounds, loading bays and main entrance. I believe that the power supply for the cameras and security protocols are located here, in this building approximately 100 feet from the building," she said, pointing at a small building."Nadira, you and Lucas are in charge of shutting down the main power," Tommy said.
"I believe that this building will have security precautions of it's own as well. The duty roster for Chyro Tech shows a shift rotation for guards to defend this building," she said.
"Dira and I will get in there and take'em out. No problem," Lucas said.
"Once primary power is off line, there will be a 90 second delay before secondary systems can be established. This will give you an opportunity to get inside the building before they know you are there. Once inside, these areas here; the science lab, genetic experimentation, memory adaptation and weapons divisions, should be your intended target for the isotropic bomb. With three of their major divisions are crippled, it will take them years to recover the research and begin again," she told them.
"That's where Alex, Adam and I will go. We'll get in there, plant the bomb and get out before they even know we were there," Tommy said.
"And finally, their main computer systems are located here, on deck one. Chyro Tech keeps some of their more sensitive files classified and encrypted to ensure no one can access it, but it is all found here," KJ said.
"Trip, I want you and Emery to get in there and establish a connect with their computer, then try to download as much as you can, even the encrypted information. Once you do, erase the original files," Alex said.
"What about me sir?" Katie inquired.
"I want you to stay with the M.A.V. II and wait for Trip and Emery to establish the download. When they're done with that, be ready to get us out of here at a moments notice," he said.
"Understood,"
"Does anyone have any questions?" Alex asked.
"Sir, is it not your intent for me to come along on this mission?" KJ asked.
"No. If that bomb goes off and you're trapped inside, you'll be destroyed. You're much too valuable to Time Force, to us," he said.
"Thank you sir,"
"What about the morphers? They still won't be protected if the bomb goes off, and with that much radiation, I doubt we'll be able to morph anyway," Trip brought up.
"We should leave them here. If we're not going to be able to use them, and if communication won't be possible, why have them there? The morphers will be at risk if we don't leave them behind," Adam pointed out.
Alex nodded. "That's a good point. Everyone leave their morphers behind," he said.
"But sir, I don't think…" he was cut short.
"I understand how you feel about it Tommy, but they'll be no good to us there anyway. The morphers stay behind," he said.
"Yes sir," Tommy reluctantly agreed.
"If there are no more questions, you're all dismissed. We'll meet in hanger five in twenty minutes," Alex said.
All of them nodded, then one by one headed out the room. Lucas waited until everyone was gone before he approached Alex.
"If there is an operative going on this mission with us, it isn't the best idea to leave the morphers behind. You know that," he pointed out.
"Trust me, everything is going according to plan. If this works the way I plan it to, Chyro Tech won't know what hit'em," he said with a smile.
*
Jen stood in front of them, impressed at the group of cadets she'd been assigned to teach. Each of them had a unique quality, something that made them invaluable to the group. In fact, she couldn't help but be reminded of when she and the other rangers were put together from the first time. Each of them were new, unsure of themselves, but were proud to be a part of their group.
"I've called all of you here because Time Force hasn't been completely honest with you. Normally, I'd follow my orders and allow things to play out the way they were intended to, but I believe that I'm going to have to call on each of you before your time," she paused. "I want you to know that all of this is completely off the record and cannot be discusses with anyone else," she told them.
"We understand ma'am," Khalil said, speaking for the group.
"The details on what's going to happen are vague, but then again, history logs always are. The three of you, along with KJ, were selected for a mission that will take you to the year 2007. Again, I'm unsure what the threat will be, but I do know that it will be up to you to stop it," she said.
"Its about the mutants, isn't it?"
"What? What mutants?"
"When we went on our field trip, one of the scientists there told us about the morphers they'd been working on. Then, we did some research and discovered that the only major incident in the history logs was the mutant attack in 2005. We just assumed that…" she was cut short.
"That was a fine bit of detective work, but same your assumptions," she said.
"Yes ma'am,"
"The history logs you're allowed access to aren't complete. Only officers and senior staff are allowed full access to the logs. Believe me when I tell you, something is going to happen in 2007, and you'll be there to stop it," Jen said.
"But what about our training? We've only been cadets a few weeks. Are we ready to be sent on a mission that important?" Amanda asked.
"I don't know, and that's why I'm giving you a mission now,"
"What?"
"I have a feeling something is going to happen, and soon. If things do get out of hand, I'm going to be counting on you to help me out. Are you up to it?" she asked.
"Not even a question," Khalil said.
"Same here," Sasha said.
"I'm game," Amanda told her.
"Good, lets get down to the weapons lockers," Jen said.
* Chyro Tech *
'Counsel Member Collins are the rangers plan to storm the building in approximately twenty-five minutes. Is everything in place?'
"Everything in going according to our plan. Are you sure Counsel Member Collins will personally be leading this mission?" Admiral Peterson asked.
'Yes sir,'
"And Model A6?"
'No sir, the android will not be on the mission. However, to the best of my knowledge, it is unaware that the information on the memory engrams was tampered with,'
"You have done well," he said. "What else can you tell me?"
'I believe Counsel Member Collins has a site to site teleportation unit in his possession. He may try to set the bomb and teleport out,'
"We will be prepared for him, and if this works, you will be rewarded for your efforts," he said.
'Thank you sir. There is one more thing: to ensure the morphers will not be damaged, the rangers have been ordered to leave their morphers behind,'
"That's even better. Now they will have no defense against Univex. Excellent work, I'll see you soon for the final phase," the admiral said.
'Yes sir,'* Time Force *
"There it is, that carrier wave again," Katie said as she sat in front of the computer in the science lab.
"Very good, that means the operative has warned Chyro Tech that we're coming. They'll be expecting us," Alex said with a smile.
"I'm sorry, I thought this was suppose to be a surprise attack," she brought up.
"Trust me, it will be. Come on, lets get moving,"
~~
Alex and Katie walked into the main hanger, where Lt. Emery and the others were waiting for them. "Counsel Member Collins, the mobile assault vehicle is prepped and ready as you ordered, sir," he said firmly.
"Thank you James," he turned to the others. "Camille told me today that this was a suicide mission, and she was right. My plan to go in there alone would have gotten me killed, but I have no doubt that if we all work together, we'll be able to get out of there in one piece. Each team as an isotropic bomb in their possession; remember to plant the bomb and get out of there, don't try any unnecessary heroics, just do your jobs. If we do it right, we'll be home in time for dinner and one of our major enemies will be crippled beyond repair. Are you ready?" he asked.
"Lets do it," Tommy said, taking a step forward.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Nadira said, standing next to Tommy.
"Count me in," Adam said.
"Me too," Katie answered, standing next to Adam.
"Oh yeah, like you could do this without me," Trip said, stepping forward.
"You know me sir, I was born ready," he tried to take a step forward, but tripped. He quickly got up, dusting himself off. "I'm okay," Lt. Emery said. They all giggled.
"Lets get it done," Lucas said, stepping forward.
Alex couldn't help but smile as he put on his deeply tinted sunglasses. "Okay, lets go," he said.
*
"Approaching Chyro Tech. We should arrive in approximately 2 minutes," Lt. Emery said as he drove the vehicle.
"Good. Everyone remember what they're here to do, right?" Alex asked.
"Right," Trip said, speaking for the group.
"Katie, don't deviate from the plan. I need you to stay in the M.A.V. until we signal for you. If you try to storm in and make the save, we'll…" he was cut short.
"I know what I have to do," she assured him.
"Great, lets go to work,"
*
The M.A.V. stopped about 100 yards from Chyro Tech, stopping in what appeared to be a forest to avoid being seen. Each of them piled out the vehicle with a weapon in each hand.
"Alight Lucas, you and Nadira are up first," Alex said.
Lucas and Nadira rushed towards the building with phaser riffles in hand, stopping about 10 feet away from the building. There were four armed guards patrolling the area, each with disrupter weapons. Lucas quickly reached for his riffle, opening a small panel on the side and pulling out the power core, then put it in backwards. Nadira watched in confusion as Lucas simply walked over to them.
"Okay guys, hands up," he said firmly, aiming the riffle at them.
Before he had a chance to move, another guard walked up behind him, shoving the barrel of his disrupter in Lucas' back. "Hold it right there," the guard said.
The first guard snatched Lucas' riffle away from him, admiring it. "This oughtta be fun, killing a Time Force officer with his own gun," he said with a sinister smile as he aimed at Lucas. He about to pull the trigger, but Lucas fell to the ground, and the riffle exploded, taking out the guard. The second guard shot at Lucas, but he rolled over, avoiding it, then tripped him. The final two guards rushed at Lucas, but he used the first guard as a shield as they fired their weapons. Just then, an energy beam connected with one of the guards as Nadira walked over to them with her phaser riffle in hand. The last guard tried to run, but Lucas grabbed him, ramming him head first into the fence surrounding the building.
"That was easy," Nadira said.
"Now we have to find a way through this gate to get to the power supply," he pointed out.
"Let me try something," she walked over to the gate, readjusting the setting on her phaser riffle, then aimed at the gate. She fired, using the phaser beam to cut a hole through the gate. "There ya go," she told him.
Lucas pulled an explosive out his bag, attaching it to the side of the building. "Lets go," he said as the two of them got as far away from the building as they could.
~
In the distance, they were able to hear an explosion. "That's our cue guys, lets get," Alex said as they all rushed towards Chyro Tech.
The alarm sounded, and guards rushed out the building. Tommy hit one of the guards with the phaser riffle, taking him down. Another one grabbed him from behind as a third aimed his weapon at Tommy. He fired, but Tommy turned around, forcing him to shoot the guard on his back. With him down, Tommy gave the guard a sabat kick, knocking him out. Another wave of guards came after them, but Alex and Adam were there to fight them off.
"You two just get to the computer room now!" Tommy snapped.
Without a word, Lt. Emery and Trip raced passed the guards, rushing into the building.
"So much for the element of surprise," Alex sighed as he and Tommy stood back to back as guards surrounded them.
"You ready?"
"Lets take'em," Adam said, hitting a judo kick to one of the guards.
Another one swung at him, but Adam ducked, hitting a sweep. A disrupter beam caught Tommy in the side, knocking him over, but when the guard fired again, Tommy picked up a piece of metal, deflecting the beam and hitting another guard. Alex them kicked the guard in the back, sending him head first into the metal Tommy held up. Alex ducked, and Tommy threw the piece of metal at one of the guards.
"You missed," the guard mocked, but the metal connected with a pipe behind the guard, and there was an explosion, knocking him forward.
Two guards grabbed Adam by the arms, holding him in place, but he did a back flip, twisting the guard's arms in he process, then a double sweep, knocking them into each other. Another guard lunged at him, but a judo style toss sent him crashing into another group of guards.
"I think that's the last of them," Adam said, surrounded by unconscious bodies. "Tommy, you're hurt," he pointed out.
"Its nothing, I'll be fine," he said, holding his side.
"Okay, lets just get in there and do what we came to do," Alex said as the three of them headed into the building.
*
Trip and Lt. Emery made their way towards the building, heading inside. Once they got inside, there was a group of guards by the elevator doors, but the guards ignored them as they stepped onto the elevator.
"You have any idea where we're going?"
"According to the files KJ gave us, all of their testing is done on deck 17. All we have to do is get up there, find the files we need and get out of there," Lt. Emery said.
"I hope you know what you're doing James," he sighed.
The elevator door opened, and the two of them stepped out into the hallway, taking a right. When they came to the end of the hall, they stopped a door.
"I think this is it," he said. "I'll stand guard, just get in there and get what you need. If someone is coming, I'll give you the signal," he said.
"What's the signal?"
"Probably me screaming for my life," James said.
Trip rolled his eyes, cautiously walking into the room. He headed over to the computer, sitting down and trying to access the files. He rolled his sleeve up; revealing the access codes KJ had given him earlier, inputting them into the computer.
'Code accepted. Welcome,' the computer said.
For the next few minutes, Trip went through the files, trying to find something useful. Finally, he found her way into the classified information. Once he found the files he was looking for, then inserted a disc.
'Beginning download,' the computer told her.
~~
James stood outside in the hall, standing guard. Every now and then, he glanced over his shoulder, checking on Trip's progress. His thoughts were broken as he felt the barrel of a disrupter pressed into his back. "Don't move," he heard a voice say.
James raised his arms in the air. "Okay, you got me. I'll go quietly," he told him.
He jumped up, grabbing a pipe along the ceiling, then kicked back, knocking the disrupter out the guard's hand. Before the guard could regroup, James kicked him in the face, taking him down to the floor. As the guard tried to get back to his feet, James picked up the disrupter, aiming it at him.
"How many guards on this floor?" he asked.
"I'm not telling…" he was cut short as James hit him in the face with the handle of the disrupter.
"How many guards on this floor?" he repeated.
"Only six," he groaned, holding his face.
"Thank you," James said, hitting him one final time, knocking him out cold.
~~
'Download complete,' the computer told him.
Trip pulled the disc out the computer, sliding it in his pocket, then pulled the isotropic bomb out his bag, setting it under the computer. He hurried into the hall where James was standing over a guard.
"You get what we came for?" James asked.
He nodded. "Lets get out of here," he said.
"I don't think so," a voice said.
Each of them turned around as he approached them. "And who are you suppose to be? Robo-porcupine?" Trip asked him, noticing the spikes on his shoulders.
He responded with one punch to the stomach, sending Trip to his knees. James went for a sabat kick, but it had no effect. He grabbed James by the throat, lifting him up over his head, then simply dropped him. With both of them unconscious, he grabbed each of them by the leg, dragging them down the hall.
*
Alex, Tommy and Adam walked into a lab of some kind, getting a good look around. It wasn't as advanced as the science lab in Time Force, but there were a few things along the wall that none of them recognized.
"This looks like the place," Adam said.
"Good, we'll just plant the bomb and get out of here," Tommy added.
Alex nodded. "Sounds good," he said, pulling the bomb out his bag. He was about to set it, but he walked into the room.
"Sounds good… in theory," he groaned.
Alex quickly recognized him. "Univex," he sighed. "I should have known you were working with these low life Chyro Tech bastards,"
"Surrender Alexander, and I promise your death will be painless," he told him.
"I don't think so," he said, standing his ground.
"Oh I do think so," Adam said as he picked up his phaser riffle, aiming it at Tommy's head.
"Adam? What are you doing?" he snapped.
"My mission," he said with a sinister smile.
"You? You're the operative from Chyro Tech?" Tommy sighed.
"Don't sound so surprised Tommy old boy, two years on a mutant planet gives you a lot of time to reflect on things," he pointed out.
"I don't buy it, you were never in touch with Chyro Tech," Alex said.
"You idiot, I'm from Chyro Tech. When you left Adam on that planet, our sensors detected him and we opened a stable vortex to his location. I was cloned from his DNA and bred in a lab to serve this purpose, to lure you into Chyro Tech," he told him.
"So you mean our Adam is…" he was cut short.
"Probably still rotting away on that mutant planet, if he isn't already dead," he snarled.
"You son of a…"
"Hey, one more outburst like that and Tommy's brain will be splattered all over the wall," Adam assured him. "Now, give me the bomb,"
"Never,"
"Give it to me, or Tommy is dead,"
"If I give it to you, you'll kill him anyway, so what's the point?" he asked him calmly.
"The point is more of your officers have already been captured, and if you do not do as you are ordered, they will be put to death," Univex snapped.
Alex facial expression remained blank. "Univex, you're a collector, not a killer. The fact that you're here means you want the rangers for your personal collection, so I doubt you'll kill anyone. Besides, like I do give you the bomb, it won't matter. There are two more already in place," he told him.
"You mean these?" he asked, throwing what remained of the bombs at his feet. "You see Alexander, we knew you were coming. Adam was nice enough to inform us of your entire plan, and as your officers were setting bombs, we were removing them," Univex said.
"Oh, and those files you wanted Trip and Emery to get… all fake. We knew what you wanted, so the admiral had a bunch of files created to throw you off track. So download all you want," Adam added.
Alex looked over at Tommy, who still had a phaser riffle pointed at his head, then at Adam, who looked more than eager to pull the trigger. "Fine, you win," he sighed, handing him the bomb.
"I thought you would see things our way," Univex said, crushing the bomb with one hand. "Adam, have the admiral prepare my Cryogenic containment units for the rangers. Now that we have all of them, my collection of Time Force rangers will be complete,"
~~
Preview: Final hope?Next time on Parallels II: ???
~~