Author: Jadelyn Ja Lee
Story: Through Her Eyes
Disclaimer: I own no one you recognize.
Time Frame: During Dismissed
Summary: AJ Roberts father was the greatest ranger ever….now she's taking on the mantle he gave up. Power Rangers SPD.
Author Notes: New summary!
Commander Cruger: Why is Commander Birdie coming here, huh? That overstuffed pelican and I do not get along.
Kat: He is not a pelican, and since he's your supreme commander, you'll get along with him just fine...I hope.
"So, Dr. Manx, this is your science crew?" Commander Birdie asked as he looked over the motley group of cadets and the single lieutenant. Katherine gave him a strained smile and nodded.
"Yes, this is my team. We work on all the weapons and power systems here at SPD." She explained and proceeded to introduce the group.
"…This is Boom, he's my personal assistant. He and Lieutenant Roberts here are the only ones who are involved with the main technologies." Kat was saying as Birdie stared AJ down. He gave a little humph.
"This little thing was made a lieutenant?" he asked, referring to AJ's small size. AJ kept her feelings to herself because she knew if she opened her mouth she'd do something very very stupid. Kat frowned and nodded.
"She's proven herself time and time again, sir." She replied in AJ's defense. Birdie stared at her.
"Lieutenant Roberts, front and center!" he squawked. Still blank, she stepped up.
"Sir?" she asked politely. He looked her over again.
"You seem familiar." He commented. Her expression didn't change.
"You've met my twin brother sir. He's the green ranger for KO35's B Squad." She explained. He frowned and turned to Kat.
"Is this right, doctor? She's a twin?" he asked putting emphasis on the word twin. AJ made a face behind the supreme commanders back but Kat seemed to understand something she didn't because the feline scientist nodded.
"Yes sir. Commander Dante has told us that he's a wonderful fighter, much like his father." She replied easily. Birdie frowned.
"Yes, I recall Andros telling me about the boy." He commented. He turned back to the science technicians.
"From now on, I am in charge of earth's defenses. Commander Cruger has been deemed unfit to command. You will report all your findings to me, is that clear?" he asked. The cadets all nodded and voiced approval. AJ didn't and he noticed. He glared at her.
"Lieutenant, is something the matter with your voice? When I ask question, I demand a response." He told her angrily. She looked him in the eye.
"Oh, that wasn't a rhetorical question?" she asked innocently. He glared at her again.
"Watch your tone, lieutenant!" he yelled. She raised an eyebrow.
"The tone I am conveying is appropriate for the way I view your commandship, sir." She told him, calmly. His eyes narrowed as behind him, Kat made a pleading gesture not to do something stupid.
"Lieutenant, you are this close to being dismissed!" he told her angrily. Throwing away all pretences, she fell out of formation and stood in front of him.
"No problem. I resign my position as a member of SPD." She told him. Kat and the cadets all gasped. She ignored them. "With all due respect sir, you're nuts. Cruger is the best commander I've ever met in a hostile situation. My father couldn't have done any better."
With that, she walked out of the lab.
"GUYS!" Boom yelled as he burst into B commons. B Squad and the few cadets sitting around looked up in alarm.
"Boom? What's wrong?" Sydney asked. He gulped a few times before getting the words out.
"AJ quit!" he gasped. The rangers shot to their feet.
"What!"
"She told Birdie that she didn't approve of his decision to run SPD himself and that Cruger was the one for the job. Then she walked out." He explained as Sky rushed out of the room. "Kinda like him."
"You have a visitor." The computer announced right before Sky burst into the room. AJ looked up, saw the furious look on his face, and sighed.
"Before you say anything, I started thinking about this yesterday when Birdie showed up and fired Cruger." She told him as she zipped up her duffel. Sky stared at her.
"Why?" he asked simply. She looked in dead in the eye.
"I'm loyal to Cruger." She told him, before picking up her duffel bag and walking out of the room. Sky followed her.
"That doesn't mean you have to quit!" he told her. She turned to him just as the rest of the rangers walked into the officer's commons.
"When Cruger created the intergalactic SPD, Birdie, a man who has never been a ranger nor has been in any type of war, pushed Cruger from the helm, saying he had 'more experience.' He may have good intentions, but I'm not going to stick around and watch as his pride destroys us." She told him angrily. Sky simply stared at her. With a sigh, she hugged him.
"I'm sorry guys, but I can not work with someone I do not trust." She told them before hugging the others and walking out. Bridge and the rest of B Squad went over to the window and were saddened when they saw a black jeep pull up to the entrance and AJ's sister Zoë hop out. She disappeared inside the front and then reappeared ten minutes later with AJ and her luggage. Right before getting in the vehicle, AJ looked up and Bridge could have sworn she smiled at them.
"What are you going to do now?" Zoe asked as they got on the highway. AJ shrugged.
"I can get a job with Aunt Hayley around the café while I search for an apartment. Uncle Billy once told me I'd always be welcomed at Lone Wolf." She mused. Her sister nodded.
"She what!" Cruger roared. Jack winced. He'd come to deliver the message from Gruumm and had made the mistake of mentioning that AJ had resigned on his behalf.
"Of all the idiotic things she had to inherit from her father, why did his indisputable honor have to be one of them?" The former commander muttered to himself. Jack didn't reply but he did smile a bit.
"I talked to Billy earlier." Tommy told his oldest at dinner that night. AJ looked up.
"And?" she asked hesitantly. He smiled at her.
"All I said was that you had quit SPD because of the decisions the big wigs were making and he told me that you can start on as his personal assistant once you get settled in." he informed her. AJ gave him a half smile. The four high school students looked at her.
"So you really quit?" Camryn asked in awe. AJ nodded.
"I told him I resigned." She admitted. The four teens shook their heads. Seeing the disbelieving looks on the four kid's faces, Tommy smiled.
"From everything I've heard about Birdie from Andros and Leo, I don't blame you for leaving. In fact, I talked to Rocky and the others. When Birdie fails, and we have no doubt he will, the Zeo and Turbo rangers will be there to take on Gruumm." He told his kids, glancing pointedly at AJ. She smiled at him.
"What color?"the ex-science lieutenant asked hesitantly, thinking yellow or pink. Tommy gave her a significant look.
"Red Zeo." He replied. She blinked, startled.
"Are you serious!" she yelped. He nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. AJ simply stared at him, stunned. Zoë seemed to be the only other one who understood because she was grinning.
"All we need now is Cal and I to be black and white and you're set." She told her father. Tommy just chuckled.
"Commander Cruger?" Birdie asked as he walked into the command center. The rangers exchanged looks as the newly reinstated commander looked up from the computer consol.
"Yes?" he asked. Birdie looked down at the data pad in his hand, glanced at the rangers, and sighed.
"You're requests have gone through." The avian man told the shadow ranger. The rangers looked at each other in confusion as Kat grinned.
"Both of them?" Cruger asked. The supreme commander nodded.
"It's unusual but this is an unusual situation. He's being informed as we speak." He reported. Cruger smiled.
"Good." He approved. Birdie eyed him.
"You've also been given permission to reinstate her to SPD." He told the Sirisian. Sky looked at Cruger sharply, hoping the supreme commander meant who he thought he meant. Cruger smiled as Birdie forged on.
"Given the reason for her leaving and your additional request, the counsel has agreed to the advancement." He told him vaguely. Cruger grinned as the rangers looked at each other hopefully, having figured out they were talking about AJ. A few minutes later, Birdie left to pack the remainder of his things. The moment the door shut, the rangers pounced on Cruger and Kat.
"Was he talking about AJ?" Jack asked. Cruger nodded.
"I'll be going to her home tonight." he told them. Sydney got a stubborn look in her eye.
"Not without us, you aren't."
"I'll get it!" Zoe called as the doorbell rang.
"Uh…Aimee? I'm fairly certain it's for you." Zoemumbled as she walked into the dining room. Tommy and AJ both looked up and were surprised to see Cruger, Kat, Jack, Sky, Bridge, Z, and Sydney crowded in the doorway from the front hall. AJ stood up.
"Cruger!" she exclaimed, hurrying forward to shake his hand. Before she reached him, however, he raised a hand.
"The over stuffed pelican has reinstated me as commander of Earth's SPD." He informed her. She beamed.
"That's wonderful sir!" she told him as behind her, Tommy chuckled. Jack smirked.
"DC saved the birdbrains feathers from Gruumm himself. Birdie didn't have a choice but to reinstate him." He told her. AJ smiled.
"That's great. Has the feathered idiot left?" she asked hopefully, ignoring her dad and Kat's disapproving frowns. The rangers snickered as Cruger nodded with a grin.
"He's also given me permission to give you back this." He told her, handing her a box. Glancing at her father, she accepted the box and opened it. Nestled inside was her SPD badge. She looked up at Cruger with a surprised expression.
"Sir?" she asked hesitantly. He raised an eyebrow.
"Birdie may have been willing to accept your resignation but I'm not. You are a valuable member of SPD and I'm keeping you." He told her gruffly. AJ smiled slowly as she took the badge out of the box. She glanced at her dad who was nodding. He walked around the table and took it from her. Glancing at the people assembled, including Caleb, Dylan, Camryn, and Zoe (who he noticed absently had grabbed her camera) he turned back to his daughter and pinned the badge to her pajama top. She giggled.
"Not exactly my dress uniform." She commented, fingering the black hem. The rangers laughed as Cruger walked over, another case in his hand. Kat joined him.
"I'm also happy to give you this." He told her, opening the box to reveal a small silver star. She swallowed as he took it out.
"For your loyalty and dedication to SPD, to your superior officer, to the rangers for whom you serve, and for courage in the face of adversary, I promote you to Senior Lieutenant." He told her as he pinned the star next to her badge. The rangers smiled at her as her dad beamed happily. A flash from the corner made AJ blink. When the stars cleared, she saw Zoe smiling sheepishly, her camera held lightly in her hand as the rangers laughed. At her sister's look, the sixteen year old shrugged.
"It's not everyday your sister gets promoted to Sr. Lieutenant in her pajamas."
End Notes: There will be no update next week seeing as its Spring Break and I will be in New Orleans doing demolition with my church mission group. But never fear, the next chapter will be up the day after I get back!
I am honored to announce that I have been nominated for some more awards! As of today (March 8), I have been nominated for Best Incomplete Story, and Best Original Character (AJ) at the What a Character Power Ranger Fiction Awards! Thank you for the nominations! Voting isn't up yet because not all the nominee's have been chosen, but I'll let you know when they do go up! To check out the nominees and categories go to my profile page and click on the link!
Also, for anyone interested in knowing, Betsy (my RA) has pinned a "notice" to Bash and my door that reads "Warning: These Girls May Be Hazardous To Your Sleep." We think it's because we got back from Denver around 1:30am last night and we were not very quiet as we watched the Prisoner of Azkaban. Considering you can hear phone conversations through the walls and Betsy's room is right next door, we think we kept her up till about four. (Sheepish grin).