Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own anything you recognize.

KINGS AND VAGABONDS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Six: Hidden Pride I

He would remain calm. He had been training at the SPD Academy for five years and some allowances had to be made for people who joined a few weeks ago. He clenched his teeth, seeing the corridor he was walking down and not seeing it. There was no excuse for a new trainee – however much previous experience he had – to completely ignore the most logical solution coming from the person on his squad with the most experience.

But he would remain calm. McKnight just had to see that he did know what he was talking and start listening to him. Their Red Ranger would also realize quickly enough that he should have been the Red Ranger. Not that he expected Crugger to change the ranger standings, but he did expect from respect from the rest of team and McKnight. But no – the others had just moved on and accepted that McKnight was now their leader without so much as a single protest. It was almost like… betrayal. He had thought that at least Bridge and Syd would stand behind him – Delgado didn't matter since she was new and didn't understand the procedures.

He. Would. Remain. Calm.

Sky continued striding towards the lab. Kat had wanted to see all of them about something, but hadn't said what. Bridge had gone to the girls' room to get Syd and Z, while McKnight was supposed to meet them there. He wasn't sure that he wanted to go to this meeting, but academy regulations required that he did. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and couldn't quite reconcile what he felt.

The object of his annoyance fell into stride with him at a corner.

"Tate," McKnight acknowledged cordially. A little too cordially.

"You should have listened to me," he growled. "We could have caught that guy if we had formed the Megazord right away." And it was true. They could have decimated the robot that the bounty hunter had been piloting and captured the perpetrator if McKnight had listened to him and formed the Megazord. Their strength was the greatest when the Megazord was formed and it was almost impossible for a robot to defeat them.

"You don't know that, Sky," McKnight replied coolly and a little condescendingly.

"Actually, I believe I do," he retorted hotly. He was the one with the extensive training and the knowledge of the system. Who was McKnight to tell him what he did and didn't know about capturing thieves?

"Well," McKnight responded giving him a level stare. "Perhaps, if you spent a little more time with the team, you could enlighten us." He gave him a forced smile.

Sky was livid. "What is that suppose to mean?" he spat.

"You know what it means," the Red Ranger said, grabbing his upper arm and stopping their progress down the hall. "You spend all your free time by yourself. You only join us when you have to."

"That's within protocol," he snarled.

"Yes, it's within protocol," McKnight replied, sounding exasperated. "But it's not the way to bond as a team. The A-Squad is on the front lines fighting the Troovians. We are the defenders of Earth. We have to be a team. Maybe you could join us for a game of Light-Ball or for lunch or something!"

"And what would you know about it?"

"More than you think." He paused and raked a hand through his hair. "I was a ranger for a year – and I didn't have a choice about it. I know when to form Megazords and when not to. I know what I've gotten myself into. Do you?"

"My father—"

"Your father was a great ranger," McKnight interrupted. "But did he ever explain to you what he went through to get his powers, what he went through to keep them?" He shook his head. "You idolize and romanticize being a Power Ranger – you don't understand what it is actually about." McKnight released his arm.

"How do you know who my father is?" Sky asked softly.

"I know more than you think I do," McKnight replied. He stepped through the door to the lab. Bridge, Syd and Z were already in there, looking apprehensively at them. He let out a long breath and followed McKnight into the room.

Conner let out a long breath, pausing in the corridor that led to the cadets' rooms. There were actual things that could be considered insubordination on Sky's part – leaving his post when he had been told not to was the main one. Mostly, Conner could see where Sky was coming from and what his complaints were, but none of this would work unless Sky started to see that he couldn't change the color ranger he was.

All right, so the first blow to Sky's ego had been the armored bikes that he and Bridge had received. Then he had ordered Sky to stay with the diamonds that the Troovians had been trying to get. The latter order actually had a reason, even though Bridge had volunteered to stay with the diamonds. He hated feeling like the ogre in charge of the squad. Maybe Sky would have a better time coping with not being the Red Ranger if the person assigned to that post had been one of his peers, rather than someone literally recruited in a parking lot.

It didn't matter though – neither of them could change the color assignment. It wasn't such a big deal to Conner to be the Red Ranger – he hadn't had a choice initially and, even then, Doctor O had been in charge, not him. He would have been able to deal with being the Blue Ranger, since he was doing this to feed his family. But he did have a bigger perspective on what was happening. The A-Squad, for all intents and purposes, was missing in action. They were the front line, defenders of Earth. Ego battles shouldn't be their main focus.

The door to the room that Sky and Bridge shared was open.

He peered in the room. Bridge was nowhere to be found. Sky was lying on his bed, a picture propped up on his chest. He knocked on the open door.

"Mind if I come in?"

Sky shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"How did the meeting with Crugger go?" Their commander had wanted to see Sky after they had realized that the Krybots got the diamonds after Sky left his post, leaving the diamonds unprotected.

"Brutal." Sky's tone was clipped and mechanical. "Night duty for two weeks."

That was brutal. Conner came into the room and sat down on Bridge's bed. Sky sat up, putting the picture back on his nightstand. Conner got a good look at it. He recognized the man in the picture as Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger. Anyone who knew anything about Sky knew that piece of information—and it was something that Sky talked about incessantly. His father had been the Quantum Ranger and he was going to be the Red Ranger just like him. Conner was grateful to Doctor O for keeping the archives. Sky's father had not told him much at all from the sounds of it about his team.

"That your dad?" he asked.

Sky nodded.

"You're adopted, right?"

"Is there a reason for this interrogation?"

"Look," Conner said, ignoring the barb. "I just came by to explain my orders. I was pretty sure that those Krybots were going to come back and you're the B-Squad's strongest fighter."

"Right," Sky didn't look convinced.

"Fine, don't believe me," Conner replied. "I just want you to know that I'm willing to work with you, but I can't do that unless you're willing to work with me."

Sky didn't say anything, just stared at a spot somewhere above Conner's left shoulder. He stood up to leave. There was no point in prolonging this. He wanted to talk to Sky's dad so badly and get some questions answered, but he knew that that would be out of line.

"You don't have the training."

Conner paused just inside the door and turned to Sky. The Blue Ranger was giving him a neutral expression. "No, I don't," he agreed. "But I do have the experience."

"I guess I don't understand why Crugger made someone who's a complete stranger to us the Red Ranger."

"Was there someone else besides you up for the job?" Conner asked, interested. Perhaps there was more to this dilemma than he was letting on. He had learned, in the short time he had been here, that Syd had two older siblings with powers, but he was hard-pressed to name where either of them was.

"If it wasn't going to be me, it should have been Syd's brother or sister." He paused. "But Crugger won't let either of them become rangers." He looked up. "They're not on the ranger track."

That was a new revelation. The cadets had different levels that they moved up through, but the most notable difference in their training was the officer track and the ranger track. Normal SPD police officers came off the officer track, while those being trained to be Power Rangers went on the ranger track.

"Isn't her brother at the Nebula Academy?"

Sky shrugged. "It wouldn't have been that much trouble to transfer him back here."

So there was the heart of the problem. Sky would be able to handle his assignment, given some time, but he didn't understand why one of their own was not assigned to the Red Ranger position. Sky viewed himself – and the few others at SPD with natural powers, powers they were born with – as a group, something that was elusive, but couldn't be shaken.

"He's not here," Conner said softly. "But I am."

Sky shrugged again, his gaze going to the picture of himself and his father.

"We're going to play some Light-Ball," he added. "Want to join us?"

The Blue Ranger paused, looking startled that he had been invited to do something with the rest of the group. "No, I've—"

Conner gave him an incredulous look, knowing he was searching for an excuse. Sky faltered in coming up with a good reason not to join them.

"Yeah," Sky said with renewed confidence. "Not only will I play – I'll win."

He picked up his Light-Ball glove from his nightstand and followed Conner out of the room towards the lounge. He hoped that this tentative alliance would last and that nothing would come up suddenly to shatter it.

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Z clenched her teeth, suppressing the urge to lash out at Bridge. He was sitting on the couch in the lounge next to her, chomping on his food with an amazing volume. She liked Bridge – since Jack had decided to remain in jail, he had become one of her closest friends, but it didn't excuse all the noise and annoyance he was causing. She set the book down.

"What are you doing?" she snapped, glancing over her shoulder.

"Watching you read," Bridge replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't even want to know why you're watching me read," she growled. "But can you at least do it without chomping on your food?"

"Toast?" Bridge asked, waving the offending piece of food around. "Want some? It's buttery."

Z turned around and stared at him. "Buttery?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Buttery."

"Where is he?"

She turned and gave Syd a mild look. Her roommate looked livid beyond belief as she stood in the middle of the lounge with her arms crossed over her chest. "Who, Conner?" she asked, feigning innocence. Oh, she knew exactly what Syd was looking for and there was no way she would admit that she had taken it and hidden it in a genius location. Syd just gave her an annoyed stare. "Sky? Crugger? Boom? Gruumm? Am I getting warm?"

"Peanuts!" Syd cried, stamping her foot.

"We're all out of peanuts," Bridge piped up. "But we've got some toast."

"No!" Syd wailed. "Peanuts! You know, the stuffed animal I've had since I was five."

"You've only had that thing for one year?"

"Very funny," Syd retorted in a snooty tone of voice. "Now where is he?"

"I don't have your peanuts – end of conversation," Z snapped.

The doors to the lounge slid open, revealing RIC – the robotic interactive canine – and what he was holding in his mouth. Peanuts was dangling from his mouth by one arm. RIC barked at them in greeting.

"No!" Syd howled. RIC took off down the hall with Syd in tow.

"Good dog," Z said under her breath.

"You planned that?" Bridge asked, looking mildly surprised.

"Sure," she replied with a shrug.

"It's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"No," she snorted. "Come on, Bridge. She talks to that thing incessantly and at all hours of the night. Plus, she always complains about my stuff in her room, so I don't feel bad about giving RIC her stuffed animal to play with."

Bridge didn't look convinced. Z noticed that he had shoved his toast into his mouth at some point in time, because it was nowhere to be seen.

"You can't tell me you've never had the urge to swipe something of Sky's just to annoy him."

The Green Ranger thought for a minute. "He doesn't have anything to swipe," Bridge finally said. "He doesn't have things with sentimental value around."

"Too bad," Z said with a yawn. "We could have held something of his ransom."

"What would the ransom be?"

"I don't know – a pizza?"

Bridge frowned. "You can get pizza whenever you want in the cafeteria."

Z rolled her eyes. "That's not the point – it's the principle of the thing."

"What principle?"

"Never mind," she groaned and went back to the book. Bridge viewed Sky in an odd combination of an older brother and a friend, meaning that he didn't think about hiding his stuff just for fun – he just never thought about practical jokes. Maybe Sky might get the stick out of his ass if some practical jokes were played on him. Then again, it might drive him back into his shell. Who knew?

Z went back to reviewing the chapter of the SPD handbook entitled 'Illegal Aliens from Other Galaxies.'

"Why are we all sitting around having this meeting, again?" Z asked.

Bridge turned towards her and gave her a pleading look. He just wanted everyone to sit down and listen to what he had to say. He was tired of running interference between people – Conner and Sky, Z and Syd. The meeting had been called in hopes that they could work things out before someone exploded and took someone else with them.

They were sitting around Sky and Bridge's room. Z was sitting on his bed, holding Olive in her lap – that meant he would be getting residual feelings from her if he chose to not wear gloves to bed tonight, but didn't say anything. How could he explain that people touching his stuff – especially the stuff in his bed – put him in psychic overload? Syd was perched at the foot of Sky's bed while the Blue Ranger was sitting near his pillow. Conner was sitting on the floor in front of Sky's bed. Bridge was in the middle of all of it – sitting with his back to the small tables between the beds that acted as nightstands. His was covered with stuff, while Sky's had nothing more than his alarm clock and the picture of him and his dad.

"So we can talk," he answered finally.

"Talk about what?" Z responded.

He opened his mouth to reply with something more scathing than he would ever dream of saying ordinarily, but Conner beat him to it. "I think it's a good idea," the Red Ranger said. "It would clear the air about a lot of issues." Since Conner was older, a father, and, therefore, more experienced, no one argued with him.

"Who first?" Syd muttered under her breath.

"Bridge," Conner said. "Since he called the meeting."

Bridge frowned, a dull red flush creeping up into his cheeks. He had wanted Conner and Sky to talk about their problems, while Z and Syd worked out theirs. He hadn't thought that he would be put in the situation where he had point things out to them. Of course, he shouldn't have to point the problems out to them. Who to start with? The guys or the girls?

He took a deep breath. It would be better to start with Sky, since he knew Sky better than the others and knew that, while he might be annoyed, he wouldn't hold a grudge. "Sky, you still don't trust Conner."

"I trust Conner," Sky said in a tone of voice that was bordering on exasperated.

"No, you don't." He paused. "You project things in your sleep and one of them is that you still don't trust Conner."

"I follow orders."

"There's a big difference between following orders and actual trust," Conner replied blandly, a neutral expression on his face. Sky gave him a murderous glare. He looked up and caught the expression just as Sky tried to mask it. "Take it from someone who knows."

Bridge let out a long breath. Good God, he didn't want to be the one to do this.

"Syd and Z, you guys need to work out the roommate problems."

"Excuse me?" Syd snapped.

"He's got a point," Z responded, her hands absently stroking the matted and shedding fur of Olive. That dinosaur had been well-loved.

"And what about it?"

"And I'm sick of running interference between all of you," Bridge ended loudly.

That caught people's attention. No one would have expected him to complain – and he rarely did. Things had been so much better since he enrolled here that there was relatively little to complain about – and Sky's dad had adopted him unofficially meaning he hadn't had to brave the home of his adopted parents in two years. Normally, he didn't have complaints. Now, he just wanted them to stop fighting. He didn't remember all this fighting when the B-Squad had consisted of just him, Sky and Syd… then again, they hadn't really had a leader back then…

There was an awkward silence where they just looked at each other.

"I'll try to keep my half of the room neater?" Z offered.

Syd had drawn her legs up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees. "I've never had to room with someone other than my sister," she whispered.

"You have a sister?" Z asked, looking surprised.

Bridge inwardly smacked himself. In the few weeks that Syd and Z had been roommates, Syd had never told her about her older siblings? Even Conner knew about Paris and Austin! That didn't make any sense.

Syd nodded. "She kept her side of the room the same way I kept mine."

That explained a lot of the problems. Z nodded in sympathy. "I wish I had a sister," she mumbled to herself.

"No you don't," Syd shot back.

Z just grinned, holding Olive to her chest.

Conner looked at Bridge. "Was there anything else?"

"I may be telepathic, but that doesn't mean I know everything?" he offered.

Conner laughed, but Bridge noticed that a shadow had fallen over his normally friendly and alive hazel eyes. "No one knows everything," he whispered.

For the others, that signaled that the meeting was over. Syd and Z popped up and were heading down the hall to their room. Conner got up slowly, looking bruised and exhausted, like he was recalling memories that were painful. What had happened to him? Something must have – Bridge knew nothing about him outside of his past as a ranger, he had been a soccer star, was divorced and had two daughters.

Bridge got up and collapsed onto his bed. Picking up Olive, he breathed in the faint scent of Z's perfume. Sky had already gone back to what he had been doing before their room had been infiltrated with the others.

It might not have been much, but it was a start – it was a start.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Elements of this chapter come from Walls and Dogged. I apologize to the people that e-mailed me about the cannon in SPD - I got your e-mails, but I haven't had time to reply to them! I will get to it before I go home for the summer. At any rate, thanks for reading and reviewing. This piece has hit one hundred reviews - I'm blown away and completely flattered! Thank you so much! The normal thanks to my beta reader, Jepoliant and all my readers!