He was furious, how could Cruger expect the team to do this?
"Permission to speak freely, Commander." Schuyler Tate requested formally.
"Permission granted Cadet."
"Sir, we are Power Rangers, not baby sitters. Surely there are other matters that demand our attention over …. this."
"Unfortunatly, Cadet, that is not in your jurisdiction. You will go forward with the mission that was given to you. Dismissed." Sky saluted, and walked out of the meeting area behind his teammates, still fuming about the assignment he had given them. What business was it of theirs to protect the ambassadors daughter? Understandably, it would make sense for someone who wished to make a political statement to indirectly attack the ambassador, but he didn't understand why it required the power rangers to do it. Being the ambassador, shouldn't he have a squadron of Secret Service Agents commissioned by the President anyway?
Giving up on further advancing his already incessant headache, he decided to postpone further thoughts of the ridiculously childish assignment until post-pain killer taking. He paused momentarily as the doors to his room that he shared with Bridger Carson. To his disappointment, he was in the room, which would make it impossible for him to have the peace and quiet he needed to get rid of his migraine in process. Giving a small smile to his roommate as he entered, he walked purposefully to his small stash of migraine medications which he kept with his vast vitamin collection. Bridge, being psychic, noticed something off about his roommate right away.
"You okay Sky? You seem a little off." He said carefully. Not looking up from his place at the small counter in their room, he replied.
"And what would lead you to that conclusion?"
"Well, aside from the fact that I'm your roommate, and have been for the past few years might I add, I'm also slightly psychic….You know, in case you forgot." Not being in the mood for Bridges typical facetious 'I'm going to make you think that we're both stupid' sense of humor, he gave a disgruntled chuckle, shook his head, and kicked back some more water. It was time to go to his favorite secret spot. "Dude.." Bridge started again, "if you ever, you know, want to talk, I'm here to listen. I'm still your friend, whether or not you're the red ranger. Syd too, what color you wear doesn't matter to us, and I hate to see it push you farther away form what you could be." Sky gave a heavy sigh, and placed his hand on Bridges shoulder in a brotherly manner.
"Thank you Bridge, but right now, I need to be alone. I'll see you later." He let his hand slide away as he walked out the door, to some destination that no one but him, and possibly Commander Cruger, knew about.
He sat in front of the large bay window, trying to think about how this whole mess had come about. Not only had he failed to become the red ranger, but he now had to baby sit the ambassadors daughter. Coping with the whole Red Ranger business was hard enough. Ever since he had come to the Space Patrol Delta academy, he had worked day in and day out to be the best cadet that the academy had ever produced. And from his test scores, and training evaluations, his work had not been in vain. But why, then, did he not receive the title that he felt he deserved. Jack Landors was nothing more than a petty thief who deserved to be locked away in file storage to pay for the crimes he had knowingly committed, not handed one of the greatest honors to ever grace the S.P.D., and possibly even the world. He knew that he was being bitter, and holding grudges, both characteristics he knew to be childish and undesirable, but he couldn't help it; he couldn't help feeling that something had been stolen from him. And who better to do it than the thief he and the other members of the B-Squad were supposed to catch.
As to this whole babysitting business, he couldn't help but feel, if possible, even more demoted than he had after the whole Red Ranger ordeal. Had he worked this hard, and this long to become a power ranger for this? To baby sit someone's daughter? He never remembered hearing anything about the A-Squad babysitting anyone, Ambassadors daughter or otherwise. He sighed, all this thinking about crappy things was doing him no good, especially not for his migraine. He resigned to gazing out the window, and the spectacular view that he enjoyed so much as a child, feeling all the childhood drain out of him as his stony gaze stared down anything in it's path.
He saw Sydney on his walk back to his dormitory, the pink in her uniform standing out in the semi-darkness of the dimly lit corridor in the upper hall.
"You're out late." He heard her say good-naturedly. He shrugged.
"I got lost in my thoughts, I lost track of time." Avoiding eye contact with her, he kept his eyes focused on a middle space on the wall. Her eyebrows contracted.
"Sky, I wasn't criticizing you, I was just trying to be friendly. I'm still your friend right?" The worry in her voice shone through, hitting close to home. He sighed deeply, for what seemed to be the millionth time that night.
"I know Syd. Look, I'll catch up with you later, I need to get to bed, the ambassadors daughter is coming tomorrow."
"Is that what this is about Sky? The ambassadors daughter?" He flared his nostrils again, and breathed deeply. "Because if it is, don't let it get to you. The Delta A-Squad may not have done it recently, but I know that the Gamma's and the Sigma's did it lots of times. It's not a big deal, and it's only temporary. I know you've been under a lot of stress lately, but don't let this get to you, its not worth it." She grasped his arm gently, in a sisterly like manner. He knew that she was just trying to help, but he was sick of that, he wanted to do this on his own. He started to say something, but he was cut off by Sydney once again. "I know that you feel like you have something to prove, but Sky, don't let this turn inward. I know that you hold grudges, believe me when I say that, but if you go into this with a bad attitude, nothing good will come of it. You never know, maybe she'll be the coolest chick you ever meet, possibly even cooler than me." She punched his arm jokingly. "Now get to bed, I can't have my favorite blue ranger even crankier on the job than he normally is." Sky smiled half-heartedly at her stab at his most common mood.
"Good night Sydney." He said with finality.
"Good night Buster." She said sweetly, walking in the opposite direction from him, as her room was down the other hall. He had a lot to think about tonight.