Disclaimer: If I owned SPD, the show would have been awesome…r. Enjoy.
Sky entered the Command Center and smiled. "I retrieved the security video logs, Sir."
"Great job, Sky. For a reward, I'm giving you the night off while the rest of the team is in a late night training session. Now, I'll take the log disk and you can go on your way."
Sky opened up the suitcase, took the disk out and handed it to Cruger, then closed up the suitcase and walked back to the Commons Room, the suitcase tightly gripped in hand.
He walked in, encountering a stern looking Bridge. He became a bit nervous; Bridge never looked upset.
"Hey Bridge." Sky said, trying to appease the anger that was bubbling beneath the surface of Bridge's skin.
"Oh sure, you'll acknowledge me, but you won't give Corona the time of day." He replied calmly, but his voice was stern, harsh, even biting. Z and Syd knew something was up. Jack was too busy playing video games to notice. Z poked him to get his attention.
"Listen, this isn't any of your business, okay Bridge?"
"You can't even thank her for saving your tail? That's a common courtesy!"
"I have my reasons for not speaking with her!"
"Oh, you won't be nice to her, but the first chance you get to beat on her like she's a dog, you're all over her! And you're such a model citizen, aren't you?" Jack, Z, and Syd were definitely paying attention now. They had never seen Bridge so upset over anything before.
"Cadets!" Cruger called out from the doorway. "Stop this bickering this instant! Jack, Bridge, Z and Syd, report to training immediately. You're going to be late."
"What about Sky?" Syd asked.
"That's none of your concern. Just go." Sky walked into his room as the rest of B Squad left for the training grounds.
"Bridge, what was that about?" Syd asked as she caught up with him down the hallway.
"He acts like she's nothing more than a dog. It's ridiculous. I won't stand for it any longer."
"You gotta elaborate on this one, Bridge."
"I will out on the field."
Back in the Commons Room, Sky had set the suitcase in his room and smiled. He took his jacket off and took the video chip out of the pocket it was being concealed in. He walked over to the small, flat screen TV and pressed on the flap protecting the less commonly used controls. He spotted the video chip input and slid the male end of the chip in, turned on the monitor, plopped himself on the couch and began to watch.
A young woman's face was on the screen. She was about 12 years old, with brown hair and brightly shining blue eyes. A pair of dragon earrings hung from her ears and she was dressed in a red SPD cadet-style uniform.
"Welcome to the S.P.S. Tantalus. I shall be your guide for this tour; you may call me Miss Corona. My name means 'crown', so you'd better treat me like a queen!" She giggled happily. "Oh, I'm kidding." She flung the camera around to reveal that she was in the Common Lounge, the first room Sky had entered when boarding the ship just hours ago.
"I am but a lowly D Squad cadet! Oh, the drama that comes with being in D Squad! Oh, but I have friends."
Corona went closer to a couch seating several people, but the lens was centered on two young women. The girls looked very similar to each other; in fact, they could pass for twins. They both had long, milky white hair that looked like somebody had coated it in mother-of-pearl. Their eyes were violet and their smiles were sparkling. They wore SPD cadet-style uniforms as well; the girl on the left was wearing a blue uniform, and the one on the right was wearing a green uniform.
"Meet Omega-" She shifted to the girl in blue, "and Sonoma." She shifted to the girl in green. "We are the S.P.S. Tantalus's D Squad. We're missing a yellow member…" Corona shifted the camera to look back at her. "will you join us for a trip around the universe, spreading the joys of music, fun, and mischief to every planet we land on?"
Sky smiled. "Man, that's so lame. But you can't expect anything less from Corona..." He walked over to the snack generator and made himself a bowl of popcorn. This was going to be a good movie, after all.
He continued watching the video for the next few hours until the rest of B Squad came back. By the time they had returned, he had turned the television off, cracked open a book and fallen silent.
"So, how was training?" Sky asked softly.
"It was hell on earth, Sky." Syd replied, plopping herself on the couch next to Sky.
"Four hours on a night raid mission…it was so brutal!" Z added as she walked into the room she shared with Syd.
"It wasn't all that bad, ladies!" Jack rebutted as he dropped himself onto an orange beanbag chair.
Bridge walked into his room without replying at all. Sky frowned slightly.
"So Sky, how's that book?" Syd asked as she peered at the title. "Regeneration. Interesting title name. Is it a book about reptiles?"
Sky gave her a questioning look. "When would I ever care about reading a book about reptiles…?"
"Well, I don't know what books you read."
"Well, maybe I don't want to be interrupted with people asking me about my books." He gave the evil eye to Syd, who quickly cringed and got up and away from Sky.
"I'm going to bed. I have a headache." Sky said as he looked at the clock. It was one am; four hours later than Sky was used to going to bed. He slid a bookmark in his book and went into his room. Moments later, Bridge promptly walked out wrapped up in a bedsheet and carrying his pillow.
"Looks like I'm sleeping on the couch tonight." Bridge sharply replied.
"Bridge!" Syd said. "You're dropping to Sky's level!"
Bridge looked at her, then frowned.
"Well, I just want to avoid him. I'm still a little upset. She doesn't deserve to be treated like an animal, like I've said before. She's a human being who deserves a little respect. She built all of our stuff, ya know, from our patrol vehicles to our zords. Sky needs to show her a bit of respect. Then I'll be fine."
Syd sighed, then turned on the TV. A frozen image of a young teen girl staring down at the screen flickered.
"What's this?" Syd asked. "The image's frozen."
"I know!" Bridge said as he popped the flap open; his guess was confirmed as he saw the video chip in the input drive. "Sky's smart, but he's not good at lying. I knew he took the video chip out of Corona's camera."
"What?" Z asked, confused.
"On the ship, Corona accused him of stealing a bunch of stuff from her room, including a video chip for a hand camera."
"Well, I'm interested in knowing what's on the video…aren't you?" Jack asked. "I mean, he left off looking at the girl…I wonder if there're any other girls…maybe doing something naughty…maybe that's why he was hiding it."
"Good point." Z added. She sat down on the couch and smiled. "I say that we should watch it."
"I hope you don't mind girl on girl action…" Jack slyly said. "I think it's his kind of thing."
"Jack! Gross!" Z replied as she pulled slightly back away from him.
"Well, he looks like the jealous type…I don't think he could stand watching a porn with another man in it."
"Jack, could you stop it?" Syd asked as she tossed a pillow at his head. Jack let his lower body phase through the couch, letting the pillow fly straight over his head. He then pushed himself back up and smiled.
"You missed." Jack said with a smile.
"Okay, I'll go check and see if he's asleep." Bridge said, getting up. He walked into the room to an unfamiliar scene. The suitcase was cracked open, and the blue comfort pillow was on Sky's bed. Sky was fast asleep and snoring, his head nestled on one end of the pillow, his left arm slung loosely over the other end. He was so tired that he fell asleep in his uniform. His copy of Regeneration sat on the nightstand dividing the two beds. Bridge slowly picked it up, making very sure he didn't wake Sky up. He then quickly changed into a pair of lounge pants and walked out with the book. He sat down as Jack waiting for him to come out.
"All clear?"
"I took his book. What do you think?"
"Alright, let's go." Jack started up the movie.
The girl in the paused frame raised the camera up. It was Corona, dressed in a red cocktail dress with her hair in pigtails.
"Good morning, Tantalus crew. This is Lady Corona-"
Omega popped her head into the frame She was wearing a purple pantsuit which made her eyes looks brighter. Her hair was braided back and still shimmered like a pearl as the light touched it. "and Lady Omega!"
"And we will be showing you around and having you meet the crew members!"
"How fun is that? We may even be able to get a quick shot of Commander Alpha!"
Both of them squealed.
"Oh, Commander Alpha is wonderful! She's so brave!" Omega said.
"Their commander is a girl?" Syd asked.
"Awesome!" Z added.
"She's pretty!""She's my older sister!" Omega cheered.
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
"You lucky girl!"
"But you have Nova!"
Corona gave her a look. "Oh yes, just what I always wanted." She deadpanned.
"Wow, what a dirty porn." Syd commented as she looked at Jack.
"Hey, the jumper was misleading." Jack replied. Syd just shook her head.
"Well, let's go up the ranks, shall we? Let's start with Sonoma and Nova, then we go to C Squad, the B Squad, then A Squad, then Commander Alpha."
"I can hear Nova shouting about how we should be practicing."
"Him and Mordom hounding us all day."
"Mordom? Like, the criminal assassin Mordom?" Z said.
"It was a crew member of the ship? No wonder why that ship got taken out!"
Corona dropped her voice slightly and began to imitate a male. "We were given orders to be perfectly prepared for the concert tonight at 0800 hours; it is our duty as D Squad to uphold these orders given to us." The two then giggled.
"That's only funny because it's true. That's also sad for the same reason." Omega replied.
"Let's just go find Nova and Sonoma." As they walked down the corridor, Omega cleared her throat. The camera was turned to face her.
"Yes, Miss Omega?"
"I wanted to talk about Nova while we looked for him."
"Sure. What do you have to say?"
"Well, I find him to be a completely boring for most of the time he's awake, unless he's doing one of two things."
"Those things would be…?"
"Playing his bass and fighting." Omega replied with a strange smile; it looked like she admired those qualities in him.
"Oh, I see." Corona seemed to agree.
"Well, when he's playing his bass and singing with us, he becomes this…entity…that's removed from his regular personality. He becomes a fun-loving, jovial…human, almost."
"So you're saying he's not human?" Corona asked with a laugh.
"All I'm saying is if you should check and see if he's a Tandarian, with all the sitting around he does!" They laughed.
"And the fighting part?"
"Well, when he's fighting, that's all that seems to be on his mind; getting the job done. He becomes this unstoppable force of nature, uncaring of what he destroys…he becomes a robot, almost. It's very interesting, because he's docile and non-aggressive by common nature. On Domoria, they would surely study the gravitational alignment inside his body to see if his pull was too strong…Domorians with a large gravitational pull tend to have sudden psychotic episodes due to the pressure on their brains from the gravitational compression. Domorians with a strong gravitational push, on the other hand, can't seem to ever find the will to fight. Luckily, the Commander, Sonoma and I have very neutral gravitational fields." Omega sounded like a textbook.
"Most doctors on Earth would just check him for schizophrenia. However, the changes seem too controlled for that to be the case. I think it's just certain modes he goes into; some Earthlings are able to do that. He just does it with finesse."
"Well, to be honest, I can't think of a Domorian who exhibits such extremes in personality like Nova. Much like our birth-given abilities, we can be peaceful and protective, or we can be merciless and destructive. We really don't have extremes that he can seamlessly snap in and out of."
"I've noticed."
"Hey, I hear a violin coming from the Commons Room. Let's go in." The two were outside the D Squad Commons room now; the faint sound of a violin and bass could be heard from the inside. Omega opened the door to reveal a pair of pre-teens tuning instruments.
A young man in a blue tuxedo with an untamed mass of brown hair comparable to that of Bridge's was tuning an old electric bass while Sonoma, who was wearing a brown lolita dress with pockets was tuning what appeared to be a slightly larger and flatter version of an electric violin.
"Nova! Sonoma!" The young man and Sonoma turned around to face Corona.
"Oh dear! You're late for practice!" Sonoma said.
"Yeah, exactly twelve minutes and forty-eight seconds late." Nova replied.
"Wow, those two weren't kidding, were they?" Z commented as she came back with popcorn. Jack and Syd made a noise indicating that they agreed, but Bridge was reading Sky's book too intently to notice her comment.
"Well, we're here now, right?" Corona said.
"Yeah. So let's get going. We've tuned our instruments already! You're behind! Let's go!" Nova snapped at Omega and Corona.
"Geez! We're getting to it!" Corona said as she set down the camera and turning it off.
The next scene opened with the D Squad crew carrying their various instruments backstage and setting up their stage. Corona set her acoustic hybrid guitar to her left and her pure electric guitar to the right, then hooked her electric up to the amp behind her. Nova hooked up his electric bass to a different amp, Sonoma took the time to tune her violin one last time before plugging it in, and Omega attached a yellow clip to the end of her green, flute-like instrument.
"Good luck, you guys!" The voice behind the camera cheered. The voice was light and cheery, like that of a soccer mom, but also disciplined and orderly, like a police officer.
"Thank you, Commander!" Omega replied.
"This is a great honor to have your blessing for this, Commander." Nova added.
"Just play well and you'll get the rest of the week off." Sonoma and Corona seemed to enjoy this comment given by the Commander. "Now, I must take leave. Alpha, Beta, and Delta from B Squad will be here surveying the area and watching your performance. Want me to leave the camera with them?"
"Of course, Commander." Corona replied.
"Then I shall depart. Now, take care and remember; this is supposed to be a fun event, not a military demonstration…right Nova?" It was painfully obvious that the comment was meant only for Nova.
"Of course, Commander." He gave a slight head bow in acknowledgement.
"Good. Have a nice night and I will see you back on the Tantalus!"
"Yes, ma'am!" They gave the traditional SPD salute before the Commander departed.
"Wow, that's weird. Why would a bunch of pirates be giving our salute?" Syd asked.
"The Tantalus used to be an SPD space scout before the pirates took it over. They went from being a ragtag band of criminals to being a highly organized group of elite mercenaries headed by a leader who was comparable to Cruger himself in terms of leadership and strategizing. However, since they were mercenaries, and they weren't hired often, they did a lot of criminal activities, mostly looting warehouses or the homes of aristocrats. They were known for three things until their sudden disbandment due to the massacre of the entire crew. One, they were highly trained fighters; even the D Squad could function as a last resort army, ad it was usually only comprised of teenage members with little more than their own natural abilities at their disposal with a very minimal weapons training background. Two, they were skilled in all forms of entertainment; the D Squad being infamous for being a jazz band, the C Squad being an actor's guild of sorts, and the A and B Squads occasionally joined up to become an improv act. Three, they were known for having a shaky alliance with SPD, which was why they were, in a sense, allowed to loot the homes of the rich to feed and clothe themselves and the poor people they passed their unwanted goods to." Bridge rattled off the information like a talking encyclopedia without ever looking up from Sky's book.
"So they were like Jack and I?" Z asked.
"In a much larger scale, very much so. Although I'm doubtful that you were ever hired by SPD to fight Grumm on various planets with unnaturally low manpower." Bridge turned the page of the book, finally deciding to join in with the movie watching.
The camera was set on a head of a B Squad member as the curtains pulled back to reveal the D Squad waiting to play. After waiting three seconds after the curtain touched the sides of the stage, Nova started playing a jazz riff on his bass. After two measures, Omega, Sonoma, and Corona joined in, and after six more measures of the eclectic mix, Nova began to sing.
"Dark blue skies
Open up for me
Bring back my sunshine
So I can finally see…"
Corona joined in, providing a high alto sound to contrast Nova's low baritone. Sonoma echoed the lines, adding her high soprano sound to the mix.
"I don't want no more rain
Just want a bright day
Need to beat these blues
Just need a sun filled day…"
Nova sang the last part solo. Some of the girls in the front were swooning and cheering while he sang the last part.
"I just want one good day
With the one I love
Just want the day
To be you and me, babe
No distractions, no sounds
Only smiles, no frowns
If not, my days'll only have rain
If you're unhappy, then I'm blue
I just want one good day with you…"
Then for roughly five minutes, they entered into what most people would consider a jam session. The four all had individual solo parts, to which Sonoma's violin solo got the most cheers. As soon as they ended the piece, the crowd cheered.
"Man, this's boring…" Jack said as he fast-forwarded through the scene, finally stopping at the beginning of the next scene.
The next scene started with the camera panning into the D Squad Common Room; Sonoma was doing push-ups in the middle of the room, Omega was playing a soothing tune on her flute near the entrance, and Nova was in the back of the room, reading a large book and eating popcorn.
"Good morning, everybody!" Corona said from behind the camera. Omega gave a nod, Sonoma looked up and smiled on her next push-up, but Nova didn't respond at all.
Corona walked over to Nova's side, running into a blue wall of light, which made her own red shield jolt up in defense.
"Nova…" Corona said. Nova then dropped the wall.
"What?" He snapped. The book's cover was clearly visible when he responded; he was reading War and Peace.
"You're eating heavily buttered popcorn."
"So?"
"It's bad for you."
"But…it's buttery."
"See? I'm not the only person in the galaxy to say 'it's buttery' about food!" Bridge shouted as he lightly wiggled his fingers. The rest of B Squad gasped and shushed him, pointing to Sky's room. "Oh. Sorry."
"But you'll get the grease on your book."
Nova then held up a yellow hand towel.
"You suck."
Nova smiled to the response. It was an eerie smile, like it was forced or painful.
"So, how's the book, Nova?" Omega asked as she stopped playing.
"I would know more of the story, if you didn't keep on stealing it!" His tone was sharp.
"You need to live outside your books, Nova."
"That doesn't give you the right to take my books."
"But I like your books, too."
"Listen-" He sat up and slid a bookmark in his book. "next time you touch my copy of War and Peace, I'm going to start a war that'll only end when you're in pieces!"
"Wow, good one!" Z commented as she got up to get a cup of coffee out of the snack generator.
"Nova! Such harshness!" Corona said, punching Nova's arm. Nova replied by tossing popcorn at the camera. "Hey! The butter will ruin the lens!" Nova laughed at the comment, and the laugh sounded repressed, and looked even more sadistic than his smile.
"What a scary little devil that boy is!" Syd said. "I think I've heard that kind of laugh before though…I just can't remember where…"
"Hey guys!" Sonoma said. The camera turned around to display the green D Squadder standing on only the toes of her left foot, spreading the rest of her body out like she was flying.
"Well, I think it's official. Green is not the official color for weirdos." Jack muttered to Z. Unfortunately, Bridge heard him.
"I'm not weird! I'm gifted with lots of knowledge and a unique way of presenting it to others." Bridge commented in his defense. He thought that he had sorted out the 'Bridge is a freak of nature' comments from Jack last week. Obviously not.
"What is it, Sonoma?" Omega asked.
"I think I understand this all! I understand our purpose!" Sonoma said as she sat on the ground.
"You understand the meaning of life?"
"Sorta."
"Then you must tell us."
"Okay." Sonoma began to levitate to Omega's eye level. "Well, you remember the tale of the men who defied their fate?"
"Yes! I love that one. The two men were criminals, and their punishment was to go to the oracle and be told their fates. They went to the oracle and she said that the men would die horrible deaths within the year. The men both decided to change their ways, and on the last day of the year, one of the men was killed, and the other spent the rest of his many remaining years in peace. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I think we're all here for a reason. We made choices to leave the world we knew and we made the choice to be here, of all places. But not all of us chose to be here on the Tantalus. Some of the crew were criminals being detained here, including our mentor, Mordom. We brought Nova here on Commander Alpha and Mordom's orders after watching him fight, and Omega and I were brought here by Commander Alpha after we were orphaned so that our family wouldn't be split up. All in all, we came here because of fate. But by choice, we all stay here. Why? Maybe it was destiny that we found this place and liked it. Maybe we found redemption in being mercenaries and thieves. Maybe we have no other place to go to. Maybe our home is nothing compared to the Tantalus. Who knows? Who cares? But honestly, I believe that this ship is a step in our lives to obtain our dreams. To live is to constantly chase our dreams. My dream is to be a famous musician…or a famous chef…whichever one comes first. What are all of your dreams? Omega?"
"Me? I want to work in a hospital. I want to bring smiles to the sick and dying."
"Corona? How about you?"
"I want to be an SPD Ranger…I think I'd want to be a blue ranger. I like blue. It's red without all of the sturm und drang that comes with being a leader."
"Figures." Nova said sarcastically.
"Nova…? How about you?"
"Well, unlike Corona, I would like to be a red ranger, like my father."
Bridge paused the clip for a moment.
"Hey, what gives?" Jack asked.
"This all makes sense now…" Bridge muttered.
"What makes sense?" Z asked.
"Corona used to room with Sky…and Corona lived on the ship with Nova…and Nova like buttery popcorn and wants to be a red ranger like his father…so Nova is really Sky!"
"Oh my gosh! I was thinking that too!" Syd said. "It was his laugh that made me think it was him…" Syd gave an irritated look as she flashed back to when she has last heard the laugh. It took her forever to fix her hair after Sky dumped the entire contents of his water bottle on her head and began to cackle like a wounded hyena.
"Well, then this just makes him a terrible hypocrite!" Jack commented. "I mean, how can he rag on me for being a low-key criminal when he was part of an infamous pirate crew?"
"Resentment, maybe. He obviously left before the massacre, because he's still alive." Bridge replied. Syd gave him a quick awkward glance; Bridge's comment was highly redundant.
"Resentment?"
"Well, maybe not resentment. Maybe repression. I mean, the Sky that we know is a very drill sergeant-ish person, so any connection to him being in the Marauders would tarnish his image, therefore, he tries to suppress Corona from speaking and existing, because she's a reminder of his past life."
"Well, it all makes sense to me if you think of Nova as being a young Sky. I mean so far, the Nova kid's been just like Sky…except for the musical thing." Z said. "By the way, has he ever played music around here?"
"No, but he's got a case in his room that might be for a bass that's been there since we started rooming together. If he is trying to repress memories, playing the bass might be a trigger as much as Corona is." Bridge replied.
"Okay, but how do you explain his reading? I mean, it sounds like he's as heavy of a reader as he used to be. How does that fit?"
"Hm. That is curious." Bridge said, stroking his chin. "I'll get back to you on that. But let's just watch the rest of this, okay?" Bridge picked up the remote and hit play.
"Well, unlike Corona, I would like to be a red ranger, like my father," Nova began to repeat himself, but continued on. "because there is nothing more rewarding than being a leader, being in charge, and leading a team to victory."
"Oh, that's definitely Sky." Syd snorted.
"What such wonderful dreams!" Sonoma said. "Nova and Corona are close to their dreams…"
"No, I'm not." Nova said. "I want to be a Red Ranger on Earth, working for Commander Cruger."
"Why not work for Commander Alpha? She's a wonderful commander!" Omega said.
"Because we're not really SPD here. We're frauds."
"Nova!" Corona replied, shocked.
"It's just not the same as being a real SPD ranger."
"Let it go, Corona." Omega said. She knew that Corona was going to start an argument.
"We all have dreams that seem odd, Corona. The trick is to make them real." Sonoma chimed in.
The room fell silent until Nova spoke again.
"We're all given a deck of card when were are born, pre shuffled. That is our life. Some people play the game well, even when they're not the dealer. See, you're given a hand that you can change. Sometimes it changes for the better, sometimes it changes for the worst, and sometimes you get nothing back but the same junk you tossed out. Sometimes you have a good thing going and you toss it away. Sometimes you have nothing and you get back the perfect hand. All in all, we have what we have to get us only so far. Our dreams mean nothing if we don't strive to ensure that we are dealt nothing but good hands."
"Well said, Nova!" Sonoma said. The scene abruptly cut out as the battery began to die.
The next scene opened as the camera bobbed around hastily.
"Where's Nova?" Omega shouted out from behind the camera.
"Mordom has him outside!" A pink-clad officer shouted. The Fernovian woman wore a uniform that looked very much like the uniform that Syd wore.
"Beta, report!" A voice called out. A woman with long platinum blonde hair wearing a uniform that mimicked Cruger's uniform marched down the hallway, stopping in front of the Fernovian officer. The camera moved to catch a shot of the two facing each other. It had stopped about ten feet away from the two of them as they began to converse.
"Commander Alpha, Mordom showed up at the D Squad Common Room approximately ten minutes ago, took Cadet Nova by his hair, and dragged him out of the room and out of the ship for a highly unannounced one-on-one training session on KO-35's surface. Needless to say, Corona started…adamantly protesting…and even lashed out with an attack, but Mordom attacked her and knocked her into a wall. She was promptly treated and put under the watch of Cadet Sonoma."
"Commander Alpha, is there anything I can do?" Omega asked.
"Oh, Omega! You scared me!" Commander Alpha said as she placed her hand over her heart. "Well, if you really want to do something Omega, you can go make sure Sonoma is still consoling Coro-"
"We're right here, Commander!" Sonoma's voice called out. Corona was clinging to Sonoma's arm, her head wrapped in gauze and her innate shield keeping her body a fraction of an inch away from Sonoma's body.
"Wow, what's that red thing around her?" Syd asked.
"Her body produces a red shield around her body; she can't turn it off and she seems to be unable to touch living things." Z seemed to be the only person who noticed the dreary tone in Bridge's voice. She decided to save her comments for later.
"Oh, wow…" Syd replied. "How sad…"
"Yeah, it is." Bridge replied, suddenly finding the urge to play with the strap on his left glove.
"Are you okay, Cadet Corona?" Commander Alpha asked.
"Of course. I'm just worried about Nova…" She was crying, and was a bit choked up.
"That's understandable, but I can't permit you to intervene. I can't afford to lose two of my finest cadets at once to this…to this lunatic!"
"Commander, what are you going to do to Mordom?" Beta asked off the record.
"We're going to incarcerate Mordom for a few years, at the very least. We just have to hope that Nova can weaken it enough for us to go in."
"You're going to sacrifice Nova?" Corona asked, her eyes widening and glassing over with tears.
"It's necessary-"
"No, it's not!" Corona pushed Sonoma away and ran down the hallway.
"Corona!" Omega cried out.
"At ease, cadet Omega." Commander Alpha sighed out as she softly raised her right hand. "I can't allow anybody to follow cadet Corona into the field of battle. If they do not survive, I can't afford to lose any more of my D Squad to Mordom. It's already put all of the B Squad humans into comas, maimed the hell out of the C Squad humans, and now Mordom's resorting to beating on my little D Squad humans…" Commander Alpha sighed. "Officer Beta, you are dismissed." Officer Beta saluted Commander Alpha and left. Commander Alpha then walked up to the window and began to watch the fight. "I'm not a very good Commander, am I, Salia?" She asked.
"Zeneria, you are the finest captain I've ever seen. I couldn't ask for a better commander, or a better sister for that matter." Sonoma replied.
"I suppose. I just…I just feel weak in this situation. We Domorians are not natural fighters. We have the gift of gravitational manipulation, but what good is it when you can't take a hit?"
"We're supporters. We're just as valuable as the front line members." Omega replied.
"You have a point, Floia," Commander Alpha replied. "but it's not enough. I wish that, for once, I had Nova's strength and willpower. I'd like to fight, just once, without cowering behind my little army."
"But if you were to fall, who would lead us? Mordom? Would you want it to take your place?"
Commander Alpha fell silent for a moment, then turned around to face the camera. "I would never do that to this crew. They are our family, they're as close as blood. I would never let him take control of my ship. Mordom would be the death of us if it ever became commander."
"Sadly, you gotta admit that she was right about that." Bridge commented in a sullen tone.
"Yeah." Z replied.
"Commander…" The B Squad green officer called out. He looked like he might be the same race as Kat. Commander Alpha turned to see her officer.
"Yes, Officer Lynx?"
"The crew would like it if you were with us as sort of a morale thing. Do you mind?"
"Of course not. Let us depart." The quartet began to walk to the lounge. About halfway there, Officer Lynx's communicator beeped. Officer Lynx took out what looked to be a second-rate, shoddily made Delta Morpher and opened the front panel.
"Lynx here."
"This is amazing, Lynx! You gotta run here!" Beta's voice screamed over the Delta Morpher's speaker.
"What's going on?" Lynx asked as he began to run. Commander Alpha, Omega and Sonoma followed suit and chased him.
"They put another shield up!" Beta shouted.
"But…wasn't Nova's shield smashed by Mordom right as I left?"
"This shield…it's different…"
They arrived in the lounge and Omega pushed right up to the front and began to focus the camera to view the scene below.
Nova and Corona were back to back; their shoelaces had been tied around each other's ankles to ensure that their feet wouldn't separate while moving, and their hands were clenched together, the fingers intertwined. Their bodies were encased in a lavender-shaded wall of light, and the shots that Mordom was firing off were bouncing off the wall and landing mere inches away from Mordom. The two charged at Mordom, and just as Mordom began to move out of the way, they jumped in the air and nailed it in the head with a flying kick, sending sparks flying every which way and knocking Mordom to the ground. Nova and Corona switched places, and Corona took the lead.
"Training behind my back, you little whelps?" Mordom shouted at a volume that the camera picked up.
"You're not the only one with surprises!" Nova shouted back.
"Wait until you see this!" Corona added as she backed up a bit to let Mordom up. She then charged at Mordom and started swinging wildly at it with her fists. Mordom attempted to bash her skull in with his fist, but the shield both repelled its hand and shocked it for more damage. Corona spotted her opportunity to strike and repeatedly punched him, causing massive damage.
"You little brat!"
"You're just jealous of our mad skills!" Corona shouted. As she charged at Mordom again, Mordom waved its hand and laughed. "Perhaps you two should just…stop."
Suddenly, Nova stopped dead in his tracks. Corona jerked forwards, then stopped. "Nova…?" He shook her arms, not getting a response. She quickly hauled tail behind a giant rock.
"Mordom used its hypnotic suggestion on them? What a horrible creature!" A C Squad cadet next to Omega shouted.
A few moments later, Corona leaped out behind the rock by herself, her shield spikes extended and ready to strike. She ran towards Mordom, dodging all the shots it fired off at her, and quickly started landing hit after hit on it, showering the ground with sparks.
"All officers who can morph!" Commander Alpha called out. "Go down there to assist the D Squad humans!" Several people in the crowd morphed and ran outside. "I need two medics going out there as well! Get going!" The scene cut out as the camera was turned off. Then the screen went black.
Bridge turned off the movie.
"Well, that was an interesting watch. Sky had a nice singing voice…it's a shame he didn't pursue a career in music. He would have outsold me." Syd said.
"I feel sorry for Sky, honestly. He's obviously really bothered by what happened on the ship. I wish there was something we could do for him." Z commented.
"Well, I feel like ripping Sky's head off for being such a prick and a hypocrite." Jack added.
"What do you think, Bridge?" Z asked.
"Me? I think this book is scary."
"About the movie, silly."
"Oh, the movie? Well directed, but the main characters needed work." He smiled lightly, giving away that he was joking. "I'm really interested to know why Sky and Corona left before the fallout, and why they let Mordom roam around when he was obviously really aggressive towards the human crew. Other than that, I'm sleepy."
"Well, we should let you sleep then, since you're sleeping out here." Syd, Jack, and Z wished Bridge a goodnight as Bridge turned off the television and set the couch up as a bed.
Z had trouble sleeping that night. Why was Bridge so gloomy and becoming absorbed in his job of bodyguarding Corona? Had something happened in the diner? Was Sky closed from everybody because of what happened to him on the ship? Why would Sky be so rude to Corona when she obviously went out of her way to protect him? The thoughts raced through her mind and kept her up. She sighed, grabbed her earphones, and blasted salsa music in her ears while telling herself that she would figure everything out tomorrow until she finally fell asleep.