It was Sunday. Their day off, with no regular scheduled classes or training drills, none of the under age cadets had to even wear their uniforms. Only the officers that were on duty had to wear their uniforms. Dru was on his bed reading a book, while Sky was on the ground doing his daily hundred push-ups, crunches and sit-ups. He had done them ever since he was little, something he had started on a regular basis shortly after his father's death. And he has no plans of breaking that habit now. "Ninety-five. Ninety-six."

"Sky, take a break," exclaimed Dru. "You"ve been doing those all morning. You keep this up and you'll be doing enough for the both of us."

"Ninety-seven." Sky laughed as he finished off the last few pushups. He stood up and turned to Dru as he grabbed a towel hanging off to the side to wipe the sweat off his face and neck. "Then I guess I'll be doing you a favor."

Dru grinned. Leave it to Sky to make a joke out of staying in shape. "We'll if this all doesn't work out, at least we know you can try your hand at being a comedian."

There was a knock at their dorm door. "I'll get it." Sky walked up to the door pressed the button for the door to slide open to find Commander Cruger standing in front of him. He was very surprised to say the least. He was the last person he expected to find at their door. What could he want? It was unlikely he had come over to check on the upkeep of their dorm. Normally that would be left to lower level officers. "Commander Cruger, is there something you need, sir?" he asked as he saluted the cammanding Officer of SPD.

"No, you're fine, Cadet Tate." He patted the young cadet on the shoulder and walked inside. He scanned the room for a moment, finding everything in its place. The beds were made; no clothes or other belongings were lying on the ground. Not that he expected anything less from both Sky and Dru, they had always kept their dorm pristine. "Nice upkeep."

"Thank you, sir." Suddenly the reason as to why Cruger would have shown up unannounced at their dorm came to SKy. It must have something to do with Dru; there was no other reason as far as he knew why the commander would show up out of the blue unannounced. His assumptions were confirmed the second he saw Cruger approach Dru, who was still lying on his bed reading his book and hadn't even attempted to get up to acknowledge his commanding officer.

"Cadet Harrington, do you not know it is disrespectful not to acknowledge a high ranking officer when in their presence?" he barked.

One of these days I swear I'm going to make him eat his own words. Dru quickly stood up and saluted him, putting up one of his many fronts. "I apologize, sir, but I thought since it was Sunday that there was no need to be formal. I meant no disrespect," he announced smoothly looking Cruger directly in the eyes,

"Of course," Cruger replied calmly. It was true; Sunday was the one day of the week that the cadets out of uniform didn't need to be formal.

Dru smiled slyly. "It's okay, sir, we all make mistakes."

Cruger could feel his anger boil inside of him. It was one thing to have a cadet correct him, but another thing to have one of them make a fool out of him. He had had about enough of Dru's continuous disrespect and cocky attitude. "Pack your bags, Cadet Harrington, you're being transferred to the Nebula Academy!" he exclaimed.

"What!" both Dru and Sky yelled.

"Sir, that's not fair," Sky jumped to his friends defense believing that Cruger was overreacting. Dru was one of the top cadets at the academy. It would be foolish to transfer him now before he graduated. "He didn't even do anything. This is bullshit!" Sky yelled carelessly in his anger.

Cruger quickly turned to Sky, eyeing him hard. "Watch your tone, Cadet Tate!" he announced harshly. "And the next time you make a comment like that to me or any high ranking officer, punishment will be in order. Is that understood?" He would not have Sky give him the same disrespect that Dru had been giving him.

Sky took a deep breath, biting down on his tongue to prevent him from saying anything else that would get him in trouble. "Yes."

"Yes, what?" Cruger stared him hard in the eyes.

"Yes sir," he replied.

"Good." Cruger turned back to Dru. "You leave at 2000 hours. I expect to see you at the docking bay, twenty minutes beforehand. Is that understood, cadet?"

"Yes sir," replied Dru harshly.

"Good. I'll see you then."

After Cruger had left, Dru took the book he had been reading and threw it across the wall, yelling out in his anger.

An hour after Cruger had left the dorm. Dru had left, telling Sky he was just going out to get some air. He walked down the flight of stairs and backed into a dark corner, so no one would see or hear him. He contacted Broodwing to let him know what was going on.

"This is certainly a predicament you have gotten yourself into," said Broodwing.

Dru looked at the holograph. "I told you it wasn't my fault. It was their fault," he angrily exclaimed. "If they had just kept their big mouths shut or hadn't killed Lieutenant Jackson, we wouldn't be having this problem." He would not be taking the blame for this one.

"Yes. I suppose we wouldn't be. Gruumm's minions are becoming too unpredictable. There's no telling what they will do. Which is why I have plans of my own."

"Your own plans? What are you talking about?" Dru laughed for a moment. "You're not thinking about going against them and Gruumm, are you?"

"Precisely, my dear boy. It has been my plan all along."

"You're crazy, you know what he would do to you if he ever found out." Dru had known first hand what happened to those who double-crossed Gruumm, his parents had paid the allotted price. He had been spared, but had to devote his life to Gruumm's empire.

"He won't find out!" snapped Broodwing." I would have thought you, more than anyone, would want to take Gruumm down for what he did to your parents."

"Leave them out of this," he snapped.

"Stay with me boy and I promise you, you will have more than you ever dreamed of."

"And what about SPD?"

"All in good time, my boy. You will have your revenge on both Commander Cruger and Gruumm, and then you'll be the one standing on top. What do you say?"

Tanner sighed heavily, as he and his friends sat around in the briefing room. He had called them all in today to meet at SPD to discuss who would be taking their places. But none of them seemed to be in high spirits, in fact all any of them wanted was to get it done and over with. It was as if the very reason for what they once stood for no longer existed. Dash had been the heart of the team, always there for them, always knew what to do. And now being a Ranger didn't seem to matter in the way it used to.

"I've called you all down here to make the final decision of which cadets will take our place." He paused for a moment, as if he were trying to say what Dash would have said, but his words never came. Tanner looked up and eyed his three teammates. "I'm choosing to go with Charlie's team."

Heather reached over and took Tanner's hand into her, smiling warmly at him. "I go with Charlie and her team too." Heather turned and looked at Gina and Culby. "I know they'll do a good job."

"Me too." Gina nodded her head. "They're the best choice."

Now all that remained was Culby. They all turned to him, eyeing him, as if they were expecting him to object like he had so many times before. But this time it was different, the spark, the determination that had once been in his eyes was gone. It was as if his spirit, his will had died along with Dash. Culby bit his lip and for the first time, he no longer cared who would be taking his place, nothing mattered anymore. "Charlie," he answered softly.

"You sure, Culby?" asked Tanner, as if he almost wanted him to object, to get back some kind of normalcy.

"I'm sure," he replied.

Tanner nodded his head. "Okay. I'll inform Commander Cruger." He stood up and squeezed Heather's hand before letting it go. "I'll see you guys later."

They watched as Tanner left the room. Culby watched the longest, part of him wanting to go after Tanner, to say that he had made a mistake. But the strength to do so never came. His heart and soul, what he truly believed, were no longer there. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. All he could hope was that he had been wrong about Charlie and her team all along and that they truly were the right ones for the job and would carry on the tradition.

Sky had walked along with Dru, carrying one of his bags, to bid him farewell for what could be the last time. It was very rare, once a cadet was transferred, that they ever returned, especially if they weren't originally from Earth. They found Cruger and Kat waiting in the docking bay room, standing in front of a ship with its hatch open with several cadets and officers already boarding it.

"Well, I guess this is it." Sky sighed as he set Dru's bag in front of him. "Try not to get into too much trouble over there."

Dru grinned. "You know me. Trouble's my middle name."

"That it is." Sky smiled faintly. He had gotten used to saying goodbyes; it was like tying his shoes. But for the first time since his father's death, this goodbye left a numb feeling inside of him. The same kind of numbness he had felt when he learned his father had died. Dru had been the first person in years that he had let in close enough to get to know him. And now he was saying goodbye to his best friend, not knowing whether he was going to see him again. "Take care of yourself, Dru."

"You too." Dru looked over his shoulder, towards Cruger, who was starting to get that testy look of his. "Well, I'd better go before the big blue dog barks at me."

Sky laughed. "Yeah." They clanged their bracelets together before Dru started towards the ship's entrance.

Before he got all the way inside, he turned around and waved goodbye to Sky. "You better be a Ranger by the time I get back, Tate."

"I'll do my best," said Sky, as he waved goodbye to Dru and watched him head all the way into the ship, watching as the hatch closed, and a few moments later the ship began to lift up and started towards the night sky, disappearing into space.

"This is for the best. One day, you'll thank me," announced Cruger as he walked up to Sky. He knew this was hard for the teen, but this was for the best.

Sky angrily turned to Cruger. "Who the hell do you think you are, my father?" Filled with the fury and anger he had built up from earlier in the day, he just lost it. "I had a dad, and he was great! So I don't need you going around babying and protecting me around the other cadets and treating me differently!" He was sick and tired of Cruger acting like he was doing what was best for him. Dru was the only friend he had at SPD, and now Cruger had taken that from him as well. In his anger, he no longer knew what he was saying and had lost all control of his emotions. "Is there anything else you'd like to take from me, or was Dru and my father enough for you?"

Cruger held his ground. It wasn't uncommon that a cadet was disrespectful towards him. He just never thought Sky would be one of them. He thought he was better than that. "It's almost a blessing your father isn't here to see his son acting so disrespectful and childish." Cruger looked Sky right in the eyes. "Your father would be very disappointed with you."

In his frustration and fury, Sky was about to yell out, but the pang of hurt in his heart stopped him. Before anything else happened, he stormed off knowing if he stayed any longer he would say something he wouldn't be able to take back.

"You still sure you did the right thing?" asked Kat, who had remained silent during the whole confrontation.

"It was for his own good." Cruger turned and looked her hard in the eyes. He hated it when she questioned his authority over the cadets. "He had no reason to act the way he did."

"Open your eyes, Doggie," she exclaimed. "If you did, you would see that Sky is a very angry boy; a very angry boy who has been angry at the world for a very long time." She looked him in the eyes with concern. "You can only push him so far. He may be more special than the other cadets, but at the end of the day he's still just a sixteen year old boy who has lost everything that has ever meant anything to him." She stopped and bowed her head down, sighing gently, and then looked up at him softly. "I would have thought you'd understand what that feels like."

And for the first time ever, Cruger was a loss for words. He was left frozen, just staring off into space, and questioning his own judgment. Had he been too hard on Sky?

Sky ran into his room, and closed the door behind him and lost it. His back slid down the door and tears ran down his cheeks. The last time he had cried this much, was at his father funeral, since then he had done all he could to prevent himself from crying. He hated it. It made him feel weak. He had to be strong. Only the strongest get to become a Rangers. Sky stared off into the picture on his night stand, staring at his fathers face. He bowed his head down sighing, knowing that he had crossed a line with Cruger. After everything Cruger had done for him, allowing him in early and always there for him when he needed him. And in return he acted like a spoiled brat towards him. Sky let out a deep breath and looked up at the picture once more. "I'm sorry dad. I just miss you so much,"

Tanner slowly walked into the Command Base to find Cruger standing at his post. It was rare to ever find the Commander anywhere else, he didn't sleep, he barely ate or even took a break. It was as if it was his punishment for failing to protect Sirius and all those who had lost their lives.

"Sir, we've come to a decision,"

"And?"

Taking a deep breath he stepped forward to face him. "We all agreed that Charlie and her squad would make excellent rangers,"

"Very well. We'll make the announcement to them at the end of the week,"

"Of course, sir," Tanner nodded his head and started towards the exist entrance.

"Tanner, I haven't received re-enlistment, papers yet,"

He stopped and turned around slightly. "I wasn't planning on re-enlisting," He bit his lip and looked down at the floor, before looking back up at Cruger. "I hope you understand,"

He nodded his head gently. "We'll miss you here, you and the others," As hard as it was to find out, that none of them would be returning. He understood all too well, losing a teammate, is hard. It changes everything. It makes you see things differently. So differently, that you forget things that were once important to you.

"I'll miss you too, sir," Tanner smiled faintly, and then left without saying another word.