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, A.I.S.H.A., Admiral Summers, Camille Summers, Leo Claw and the "Omega Project" are property of yours truly. Sierra appears courtesy of… well, Sierra.
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* Silver Hills, California 3023 AD *
It had become a tradition for him.
He'd been coming to the same spot for exactly twenty years, paying his respects. Katie always came with him, though this year, it was simply too much for her. They usually stood there together, hand in hand, and stood silently. They were always silence. Neither of them felt there were words to do their emotions any justice, to properly express just how much they missed him.
But this year was different…
This year, everything had changed. Katie had finally come to the point where she was ready to move on with her life, to start over again. It took her twenty years, but she finally decided not to let this one tragedy consume her entire life. He'd tried, over the years, to comfort her, but it went without saying that his efforts weren't enough. She never said a word, never complained, but he could tell that things, from that moment on, were different. He could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, feel it in her touch. Things were different. She was different. Both of them had changed, and he didn't like what they'd become.
After the first few years, he was able to put it behind him, but after another ten years of watching her grieve, he began to resent her. Instead of living her life, she was living in the past, regretting that one incident that sent their lives into a downward spiral.
It was cold, a little colder than usual. The weatherman had predicted several inches of snow, but it was closer to a foot of snow on the ground with no signs of it ending. Still, he stood there, knowing there wasn't anywhere else he'd rather be.
He recalled going to Alex shortly after it happened, asking for permission to go back in time, to change things. To make it right. 'You can't tamper with destiny. Everything happens for a reason,' was his reply. Deep down, he knew Alex was right, but it didn't make the pain easier to bare. In fact, all it did was drive a wedge between he and Alex, even Katie grew to resent him for refusing their request.
It was an unnecessary rivalry, and he wished he'd had the opportunity to resolve their problems before Alex died a few months later.
"It wasn't suppose to be this way," he cried, breaking a twenty-year silence. "Things were suppose to be much different, and I intend to make sure that things go smoothly," he sighed. He leaned down, wiping the snow away from the tombstone. Over the years, some of the letters had gotten chipped, and the weather had taken its toll on it, but the tombstone itself was still in place. "I'll make this right, I swear," he vowed.He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a metal plate over his forearm. It was very thin, but covered his entire arm, and had a series of controls along the side. "PLATINUM RANGER, CHRONO ARMOR," he called out, transforming into the platinum ranger. Next, he input a sequence of codes into the Morpher, and in an instant, disappeared…
* Time Force Headquarters 3002 AD *
It had taken her longer than she expected, but it was finally done. She stared down at her creation, admiring the design. It was much more slender than the original design, covering most of her forearm. The second one was identical to the first, covering the opposite forearm. There was circuitry running along each of them, and two small sensor inputs.
The power source was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, virtually unlimited. Each one had a regenerating power core, allowing it become more power the more it was used. The interdimentional rift used for storage of weapons and circuitry was much bigger than anything Time Force had ever been able to design, and though the new design would be able protect the user from shifts in the time line, it emitted almost no radiation at all. It was truly a work of art. 'I only wish Leo could have been here to see it,' she thought to herself.
"Ms. Summers, report," Alex said, walking into the lab.
She turned to him, revealing the morphers on her arms. "It's done. It's finally done," she said eagerly.
"Nice motif, but what makes this morpher different from the standard issue Chrono morpher?" he inquired.
"For one, it has a phased cloak, similar to the clock in Adam's Chrono armor. It also has a built in deflector shield, which can be activated and will maintain breathable oxygen indefinitely. It also has been equipped with an independent slipstream unit, allowing the wearer to access the slipstream in our lab and activate the portal at will. The capacity for vehicles and weapons has been almost tripled, allowing the user to store almost anything inside indefinitely," she explained.
"You have outdone yourself this time Ms. Summers," he said proudly, extending his hand to her.
"Don't send me flowers yet, we have a problem," she said.
"What is it?"
"Because it has three independent morphing pods and interlocking sequencer, it takes a tremendous amount of power to activate. Right now, there is nothing in the lab, or anywhere else in Time Force, that can activate the morpher,"
"What about the files we got from Chyro Tech? Maybe we could combine energies from…" he was cut short.
"I've already gone through all the files from Chyro Tech looking for a capable source of energy, but nothing seems to work. Right now, I have Ensign Clark running a search for capable sources of energy in the galaxy, hoping that one of the worlds will have what we need," she said.
"How long will that take?"
"I have good news and bad news. The good news is, a few months ago KJ was able to increase the efficiency of the long range communications array almost 50%, which will allow us to contact other galaxies as well, but the bad news is it'll take that much longer because of the increase. If you're looking for a timetable, it could be any minute now, or it could be a month from now. There's no real way to be sure," Camille told him.
"I have every confidence that you'll be able to complete the project, but the question is, once you find the energy we need, how will we retrieve it?"
"I knew you'd ask that. I've had Ensigns Clark and Montgomery working on a schematic for a ship Leo and I designed back in the academy. It should be complete in a matter of days, and when we find the power source, we'll be able to pick it up ourselves," she said.
"You know, you never cease to amaze me Camille," Alex sighed.
"I'll keep you updated on the situation, it should only be a matter of time," she said.
"Good work Ms. Summers," he glanced down at his morpher, realizing the time. "I have a meeting to get to. I'm expecting a full report on my desk by the end of the day," he said, making his way out the lab.
*
She leaned up against the wall, peeking around the corner. At first glance, there was no one there, and she quickly headed down the corridor. After making it down to the end of the hall, she stopped at the last door, inputting a code. Within moments, the doors slid open, and she walked in.
Just as she'd hoped, there was no one there, and she hurried over to the controls. "Computer, are the modifications to the long-range sensor array on line?" she inquired.
'Affirmative,' it announced.
"Initiate the sensor array and scan the follow coordinates," she instructed, inputting a series of numbers. "Set the array for continuous scan,"
'Working'It had been bugging her for months, the nagging feeling that there was something she was suppose to do, somewhere she was suppose to be. After being exposed to Thorolon radiation a few months ago, then having that dream about being a coma for twenty years, she'd been obsessed with finding out what was in the Fikus sector. She couldn't explain it; there were no words to describe the feeling over need that washed over her. Suddenly, it wasn't enough to wonder what was going on, it was a need. She needed to know if there was something, anything remotely significant in that sector. 'Maybe someone is trying to tell me something, something important,' she thought to herself. KJ had been nice enough to enhance the sensor array, extending them further into the galaxy, and she was hoping that it would extend to the Fikus sector.
'Scan complete,' the computer announced.
"Is there any life in the Fikus sector?" she asked.
'Affirmative. There is life on the second moon of the fourth planet,'
"Human life?"
'Race of species is unknown. There is no record of this species in the data base,' the computer told her.
"If I were to take a shuttle, how long would it take to get to the Fikus sector?" she inquired.
'Interstellar travel to the Fikus sector is not advised,'"Why?"
'Scans show intense radiation in that sector. If that radiation came into contact with the power core of a standard issue shuttle craft would result in an infectious virus that would contaminate any living organism,' the computer explained.
'In my dream, Tommy said when Jen went to the Fikus sector; she was infected by a plague. Could it be that by going there, she caused the plague herself?' she wondered.
"Would there be a way to modify a shuttle to filer out the radiation?" Katie asked.
"Ya know, it just might be," she heard a voice say. Katie quickly turned around, only to see Camille standing on the doorway. "If you're going to access the long ranger sensor array without authorization, heres a hint: lock the door," she told her.
"How'd you know I was here?"
"The computer said there was a security breach in the communications room, and when I ran a sensor sweep, I found out it was you,"
"Is Alex on his way down here to tell me how I screwed up?"
"If he wasn't in a meeting, he would have been. I erased the logs and came down here myself," she paused. "Look, I know what you're trying to do here, I know about the dreams you had when you were in a coma, but I assure you, there is nothing going on in the Fikus sector. I've done the scans myself, and checked every planet in the system, there is no life," Camille explained.
"Did you check the moons?"
"The what?"
"I ran a scan, there the computer picked up forms of life on the second moon of the forth planet. There is someone out there,"
"You sure about that?"
"I'm positive," Katie said.
"Before you pull a Mulder on me, just because the computer says there's life on that moon, doesn't mean its intelligent life. It would be a plant, or an ameba, or a fungus or something. There's no way to be sure,"
"I know a way," she paused. "I'm going,"
"Weren't you listening when the computer said that the radiation would cause a plague that would kill you and anyone you came in contact with? I understand you need to know what happened, but not if it costs you your life," she told her.
"You're the genius here, can't you find a way to filter out the radiation?"
Camille sighed. "I won't make you any promises, but I'll see what I can do. Until then, don't come to the communications lab without authorization. I won't be able to cover for you every time," Camille said.
"Thanks Cammy," she said.
"Anytime," she sighed, walking out the room.
*
"So what do you guys think?" Alex asked as he sat down at the table, handing each of them a copy of the reports. He gone over them himself a few times, and though everything seemed to be in order, he wanted to get their opinions.
There was time when he would have made the call himself, but over the last few months, he'd come to trust both Tommy and Jen a great deal. There was some who suspected that there was a certain animosity between he and Tommy because of her, and though that may have been the case originally, it had long since passed. He had nothing for respect for Tommy, and wanted nothing more than to see her happy.
Jen was first to glance over the report and give her opinion. "Dr. Young's opinion is enough for me. If he says its Logan, I believe him," she said.
"That isn't in question. I'm concerned about allowing him back to work," he mentioned.
"Technically, the Charles Logan that was promoted to Admiral was a fake, which would make this Logan a Captain," he pointed out.
"What position are you trying to give him?" Tommy asked, injecting himself into the conversation.
"Now that I have the red Chrono morpher again, I obviously can't take on the responsibilities of a counsel member, so I…" he was cut short.
"You want to give him a seat on the counsel?" he asked.
"Yes, I do,"
"The doc seems to think he's fit for duty, and I'm convinced that he is our Logan, so I don't see why he shouldn't be allowed to take a seat on the counsel. After all, we let a fake one onto the counsel, why not the real one?" Jen asked.
"You're talking about giving him definitive authority over Time Force. Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Tommy asked.
"I knew one of you would feel this way, which is why I called both of you here. Jen, you'll be having the baby any time now, and I'm sure you're in no rush to return to work. Tommy, I know you're itching to have something to do now that I have the Chrono morpher again, so my plan was to induct the two of you into the counsel along with Logan," Alex explained.
"The counsel? Me?" she asked.
"Why not? You know Time Force like the back of her hand, and I know that with the two of you in the counsel, we can get a lot of good done," he said.
"How long do you want us on the counsel? Is this permanent?" Tommy inquired.
"I know that sooner or later both of you will want to be back in the thick of things again, so this wouldn't be a permanent position… if you didn't want it to be,"
"I think it's a good idea," he said.
"You do?" Jen asked.
"Hes right. There are a lot of things wrong with Time Force, and being in a position to effect things would be good for everyone involved. Count on it," Tommy said.
"Jen? What about you?"
"I hope you know what you're doing Tommy," she turned to Alex. "I'm in," she told him.
"Very good. We'll have an official induction tonight at 1700 hours. Until then, I think…" he was cut short.
'Trip to Alex. Respond,' they heard a voice say.
Alex reached for his Morpher. "What is it Trip?"
'I've got a temporal incursion in progress. I think you should get down here,' a voice said.
"Have Lt. Emery, Adam and Katie join us. I'll be there in a minute," he turned to Tommy and Jen. "Thank you, both of you. You're doing Time Force a huge service," he told them.
"I guess you'll be calling me sir again," Jen joked.
Alex nodded, then walked out the room.
*
"Do you have any idea what this is about?" Adam asked as he and Katie stepped into the turbo lift.
"Science lab," she announced, and, within moments, the turbo life began to move. She shook her head. "No. Trip said that Alex wanted us to meet him in the lab," she told him.
"When this is all over, you wanna go get something to eat?" he asked.
"Sure, did you have a place in mind?"
"I was going through the holo-programs and I found a nice one of a 23rd century beach on Alteria V. There are three moons, and all of them reflect off the water. I thought we could have a picnic or something," he suggested.
"Why Lt. Park, I never knew you were such a romantic," she mentioned.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," he paused. "Yet,"
Just then, the turbo life stopped and the doors opened. As soon as the two of them stepped off, Alex, who was heading around the corner, greeted them. "Lt. Park, Lt. Commander Taylor," he said dryly as the three of them made their way to the lab.
Alex placed his hand on the sensor pad.
'Identity confirmed. Collins, Alexander,' the computer announced as the doors slid open.
The three of them walked in, then made their way over to Trip, who was sitting in front of the controls. "We've got a jumper," he told them.
"Do we know who it is?" Alex asked.
He shook his head. "No, as far as I can tell, the vortex originated twenty years into the future," Trip told him.
"Location?" Adam asked.
"Whoever it is seems to be have the ability to fool our sensors. When the vortex appeared, there was a life sign for a few seconds, then is vanished," he said.
"Cloaking technology?"
"Maybe phased cloaking?" Alex suggested.
"No, the sensors would be able to detect a slight misalignment in the phased cloak emitter array. Whatever it is, its years beyond everything we've got and I can't track it," he said.
"What was the last known location of the jumper?"
"Just outside of town, near the edge of New Silver Hills. You may want to…" he was interrupted as he materialized out of nowhere.
It was obviously a ranger, and the technology was similar to Adam's black Chrono morpher, but much more sophisticated. Without a word, the ranger went after Adam, giving him a sabat kick that knocked him up against the wall. Trip got out of his seat and rushed at the ranger, but as soon as he did, the ranger phased, and Trip went right through him.
"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE," Alex called out, transforming into the red ranger. He quickly called for the Chrono saber. "I don't know who you are, but your time is up," he said, charging at him.
He tried to use the saber, but again, the ranger phased, and the saber simply passed through him. Before Alex could respond, the ranger kicked him in the chest, knocking him over. By then, Adam was back on his feet.
"BLACK RANGER CHRONO ARMOR," he called out, changing into his ranger uniform.
The two of them stood face to face, but the mysterious ranger was slightly taller than him. Adam tried for a chop, but it was blocked. He tried a sweep, but the ranger caught his foot. The golden blades extended from Adam's forearms as he tried to stab the ranger, but he phased for a third time, then extended a set of silver blades of his own. He swung with his blades, but Adam was able to side step him, then tried to undercut him with his blades. The mysterious ranger saw it coming and kicked Adam's wrist, breaking the blade in two.
At that moment, Adam's morpher began to glow, and the mysterious ranger used his blades to slide it off Adam's wrist. As the morpher hit the floor, it forced Adam to power down, and the ranger picked up his morpher, disappearing in a stream of light.
Trip rushed over to the controls. "Theres a power surge coming from Adam's morpher, and I can track it," he paused. "Looks like that ranger is back at the coordinates the vortex originally appeared," he said.
"We're on it," Katie said as she and Alex reached for their morphers, disappearing into streams of light as well.
~~
Alex and Katie materialized near the beach on the edge of the city, where there was a vortex opening. The mysterious ranger was making his way towards the vortex, but was cut short.
"No one messes with my man," Katie snapped, rushing at him with a kick.
"Stop. I don't want to fight you," the ranger told her.
"Too late for that," she said, charging at him again, this time with a martial arts kick. He caught her foot, pushing her to the ground.
"Damn it Katie, I'm trying to help you," he snapped as the vortex collapsed on itself.
Katie got up, dusting herself off, and was about to go after him again, but Alex grabbed her, holding her back. "Who are you?" he asked, stepping forward.
"No time for that," the ranger said, throwing Adam's morpher into the air, then dived at the two of them knocking them to the ground. Seconds later, the morpher exploded. "It was Chyro Tech's final hope for revenge against Time Force," he sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.
"When Adam was trapped in an alternate reality and was cloned by Chyro Tech, their original plan was to duplicate his ranger technology, but when they realized that couldn't, they went with plan B and cloned him. They inserted an explosive inside the morpher, and unless a signal was sent from Chyro Tech to the morpher every 72 hours, it would explode, killing Adam in the process," he explained.
"Is that what happened in the future?" Katie asked.
He nodded. "Adam's death devastated you, and you were never the same after that. You left Time Force, and after the final battle, everyone was killed. If you'd been there, things may have been different," he said.
"Final battle? What final battle?" Alex asked.
"You said it yourself sir, no one should know too much about their own future. But, now that Katie and Adam will join the fight, you have a good chance of surviving it," he walked over to Alex. "I will tell you this much," he removed his morpher, forcing him to power down. "Tell Camille this will get here where she needs to go," he said.
Katie got a good look at him. "Khalil?" she asked in amazement.
He was a little taller than she remembered, and it was obvious that whatever the "final battle" was, it had taken its toll on him. There were scars on his face and arms, and even though they appeared to be long since healed, were still noticeable.
"I love you sis," he said, and then simply faded away.
"Where did he go?" she snapped.
"By coming here and warning us, the time line was changed, and without his morpher, he was erased from future history," Alex told her.
"What do you think he meant by the final battle?" she asked.
Alex glanced down at the morpher in his hand. "Something tells me we won't have to wait too long to find out," he sighed.
~~
Preview: Eye of the BeholderNext time on Parallels II: The rangers respond to a distress call, only to find themselves face to face with a God. (Not recommended for sensitive readers)
~~