…2019

They had been together for nearly two years. They has trained hard each and every day, with their trust in each other growing. They knew each other's moves and even each other's faults, although Sky would swear he had none, but both Syd and Bridge knew all too well that even the son of a former red Ranger had faults, even if he himself didn't know what they were.

It had only been about a year since they all made B squad, although there were other B squad members. The three of them were usually separate from the others, as if Commander Cruger had other plans for them in mind. At least that was what Bridge would keep on insisting, but Sky would just blow it off and say it was just a coincidence that they all had powers and became teammates. Even Syd, too, had to agree with Sky, it just didn't seem possible, but there were other times she too had to wonder if Bridge had a point. How had they gotten these powers, that as far as she knew she had her since after birth? How was it all their parents at a connection to Bio-Lab? And how had it come to be that she wound up here at the academy? She hadn't been the one to press the idea of switching schools, although she didn't object to it either. She didn't have any real friends at her old school. Here no one seemed to care that she was different, especially Bridge and Sky who each had an ability like her.

Syd walked into the lab and found Boom and Bridge working on a computer, or taking it apart was what it looked like to her. She just had to laugh to herself watching the two, as if they had been friends for many years and not just for a couple of years. But it really didn't surprise her too much; both were really into computers and science. And at times, maybe most of the time, both could be really weird and half the time she didn't get what they were doing. But despite all that, she really did think they were both great guys and proud to call them her friends, even if Boom was a klutz and Bridge was a little immature.

"So what are you guys doing?"

"Working on a new computer program," answered Boom, as he looked over the paperwork.

"Yeah. You should check this out, Syd!" Bridge exclaimed excitedly. "It's an upgraded version of the security system program SPD has emplace."

"Yeah. This Ethan James is a really smart guy," added Boom, as he made a few adjustments to the small computer they were updating for test purposes making sure everything ran as it should.

"Ethan James, why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Well, he has put down Bill Gates and all other competing computer companies," replied Bridge. Anyone who know anything about computers would know that Ethan James is number one when it comes to high security of any major military and police establishment.

Syd just shook her head. Every other word out of either Boom's or Bridge's mouth had something to do with computers. "No, that's not it."

"Hmm. Let me think." Bridge set his tools and papers down on the table and stood on his head.

"Bridge, what are you doing?" If she had thought he was weird before, she really thought it now. She loved him to death, but someday she just had to shake her head and wonder what exactly goes through the mind of Bridge Carson.

"Oh, that's how he thinks," answered Boom.

"Remind me not to play twenty questions with him."

"I got it!" Bridge got back on his feet. "He was a Power Ranger once, back in 2005." It was exactly known to everyone, but within SPD, all cadet are given a history of Power Rangers as part of their curriculum. They are also all ordered to sign a confidentiality form not to reveal the identities of any past Rangers who never formally revealed their identity to the outside world. The only reaso SPD had knowledge was because of it close ties with former Rangers and gather intel from them.

"That's right. He and his classmates, Conner McKnight, Kira Ford and Trent Fernadez," exclaimed Syd as she began to recall from her studies.

Boom looked up from his work. "Kira Ford? Isn't she that pop singer that married Trent Fernadez?"

"Yeah. I used to listen to her music all the time when I was little. I even got her autograph."

"Hey, wasn't their teacher a Power Ranger, too?" asked Bridge.

Syd looked at him with a blank look on her face. "Don't look at me. History is not one of my favorite subjects."

Boom stood up. "Hey, you know I think you're right." He scratched his head. "What was his name again?"

"Hmm. Let's see." Bridge got back down on his hands.

"Sorry I asked." She walked out of the room, not being able to handle another Boom and Bridge moment. There were days she felt the two shared one brain and this was one of those days.

RIC walked up to Bridge and barked. Bridge looked right at RIC and noticed that something was on RIC's computing screen. It was two words, but he was having a little trouble reading it backwards. "Ah um Yommt ah…" RIC finally turned around the other way.

"I got it!" Boom yelled. Startled, Bridge fell down. "Tommy Oliver."

Bridge pushed himself up and looked at RIC. He saw 'Tommy Oliver' displayed on the screen. "Yep, that's right. Syd, did you…" He looked around but Syd was nowhere in sight. "Where'd she go?"

Boom just shrugged his shoulders, having no clue as to where and when Syd had taken off.

Sky was sitting in the control room along with other cadets and veteran radar operatives. Since he was nineteen and had graduated with high honors from the academy, he had been assigned extra duties outside his training sessions with Syd and Bridge, such as doing a year of operative work, scanning the solar system and surrounding planets and keeping in contact with SPD officers out on missions.

He found the job tiring a d tidiuis at times, wishing that he himself was one of the officers out on missions. He had even signed up for several missions, but every time Cruger turned him down, saying he was needed here. Sky was starting to get frustrated with himself and Cruger, feeling that his talents were being wasted on useless tactics. He was one of the best fighters at the academy, his weaponary scores were top among cadets and he has worked harder than most of the A squad cadets. He wanted to be able to prove to Commander Cruger that he was ready, ready to take on a more active role.

Sky sighed and ran his hand down his face as he stared at the clock. Thank God he only had an hour of this left and then he could do something that was a little more intriguing. "Just an hour of this shit and then I can get out of here," he muttered.

"Not really your thing, is it?" asked Eliot, one of the regular operatives who have been doing the job for over the years.

"Sorry about that," Sky answered almost shamefully. He hadn't meant for anyone to hear him, especially his senior officer. "I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry about it kid," exclaimed Elliot as he gripped Sky's shoulder. This job wasn't for everyone. It was a lot of watching and waiting. You're more of a hands-on sort of guy, huh? How much longer do you have to go?"

"Six months," mumbled Sky.

The older man grinned and patted Sky on the back. "That's not too bad. It'll be over before you know it."

"Yeah," Sky muttered wishing it were happening sooner then that. "Just once I'd like for something big to happen," Sky sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

Eliot turned to his screen and saw a red alert blinking on and off. "Looks like you got your wish, kid." The man pressed a switch. "Go ahead, Nebula five hundred; this is C-SPD Base."

"This is Officer Harrington…"

Sky almost felt his heart stop, that voice, the name, it had to be. "Dru…"

"Harrington, you're breaking up. What is your status?" announced Elliot as he tried to fix communication between them, but changing some settings.

"I've lost sight of my team. We were separated after an attack by….."

"Officer Harrington, you're breaking up, please repeat. What is your location? I cannot get a lock on your whereabouts, please repeat."

"I'm…"

"Officer Harrington?"

Sky abruptly grabbed the radio out of Eliot's hands. "Dru, come on, report!"

"Sky?..."

"Dru, what is your location, respond!" exclaimed Sky, but No answer came. "Dru, come in, this is Sky, over." Still no answer. "Dru?" The radio went dead. Dead silence!

"We lost him." Eliot tried to pick up on the connection again, but his attempts to reach Dru's signal failed. "I can't get a lock on his signal."

"You have to try again!" demanded Sky. Dru could be hurt. He could be under attack and need reenforcements. There were a million things rushing through Sky's head concerning his oldest friend. And all of the things ended with Dru being dead or seriously hurt.

"I have," Elliot answered firmly. "Wherever he is, something is blocking his signal."

"Dammit!" Sky slammed the radio down. He couldn't believe this, all of this equipment and they couldn't even get a lock on where Dru was or whether he was all right. It had been years since he had heard from Dru. They had promised each other that one day they would see each other again, and now he didn't even know where his friend was or whether he was all right.

"I'll have to report him as MIA if he doesn't report within the next twenty-four hours." Eliot could tell how upset Sky was over this. He knew in the state Sky was right now worrying about his friend, he would be no good to anyone right now. "Why don't we call it a night? There's not much we can do now except wait; if I hear anything you'll be the first person I notify." He gripped Sky's shoulder. "You have my word Cadet Tate."

Sky smiled faintly. "Thank you, sir."

Once Sky was out of sight, Eliot quickly grabbed the radio and typed in a sequence of numbers. "Commander Cruger, I have encountered vital information that I think you should hear," announced Eliot as he switched the screen back to where Dru's signal was being picked up. His signal was way off course. Something wasn't right here.

Sky plopped down on his bed, not even acknowledging that Bridge was in the room.

"You're in early," announced Bridge, looking at the clock. It was highly unusual for Sky to skip out on any of his duties and Bridge knew that Sky still had at least another hour left for radar observation, which was usually followed by Sky going for an hour run around the academy.

"Yeah, something came up," responded Sky, really not in the mood for any sort of conversational talks, especially when it came to Bridge, who would talk all day and night if he could.

"Oh. Anything big?"

"No. It's nothing." Sky got off his bed. "I'm going to take a shower. Later." He walked out of the room and headed towards the locker rooms before Bridge could even say goodbye. Sky didn't need Bridge to be digging right now. He wanted to be left alone and lost in his own thoughts. It seemed like everytime things were looking ahead for him thst history would repeat itself. He was always losing people he cared about. What was the point of getting close to anyone only to be left behind all the time?

"Are you positive?" asked Cruger as he was face to face with Mike Corbett who was on the screen in front of him.

"Yes sir, three days ago Officer Harrington was supposed to report to our base on Mirinoi and pick up extra equipment for his assignment. He never showed," answered Mike Corbett, who recently became the leading Commander of SPD on Mirinoi.

"I see. Was anyone else assigned with him?"

"Yes, Cadet Jones was assigned along with him." Mikes voice became grim. "Sir, my brother Leo was out on a routine search. He found an abandoned SPD docking ship. Sir..." Mike bit his lip. "Jones was dead; it was an SPD blaster."

Cruger felt his worst fears had come true. All along he had hoped he had been wrong about Dru, but according to what Mike had told him, it looked all the more clear that Dru had abandoned his loyalty to SPD. "Was anything missing?"

"Several weapons and a one-man ship were discovered missing."

"Has anyone spotted the ship, any of your scouters?"

"No. I'm sorry sir. I know Officer Harrington used to be one of your cadets, one of the best, I heard."

"Yes. He was." Cruger sighed heavily. Dru still held all the records at the academy, not even Sky had been able to break them. "If you hear anything, anything at all, please contact me."

"Of course, sir. Corbett out."

"How'd he take it?" asked Leo as he walked into the command base. Mike set the radio down and turned around to face his little brother. "All right. It's never easy telling someone one of their own has turned." Mike couldn't imagine what Cruger was going through.

"Do you honestly think that Harrington turned?" asked Leo. "That he killed Jones?"

"You were at the ship, Leo, Harrington was nowhere in sight." All evidence pointed to Dru Harrington being the one who killed Jones. There was no other reasonable explanation.

"Yeah. I know, I just can't believe it." He didn't want to believe one of their own could betray them, one who showed such promise. "Harrinton scored higher then any of the other cadets at the Nebula Academy. Why would he throw it all away like that?" Leo sighed heavily. It just didn't make any sense. "I guess I like to believe that the good guys don't turn bad."

Mike smiled and grabbed his brother's shoulder. "You and I both know that sometimes even the best of us fall." He patted Leo on the back. "See you tomorrow, little brother. Tell Kendrix and the kids I said hi."

"Will do." Leo remained in the command base just a little longer, thinking over the past, back to a time when he was younger and still wore the color red. He had long retired from his Ranger duties, as had the others. It had become tiring on all of them in their growing age; they were all in their forties and could no longer handle the intense surge of energy. But he still remained part of SPD, always reasy to be out in the action. He had married Kendrix two years after Karone had left to be with Zhane and her brother. Karone… He still felt a pang in his heart every time he thought about her. He was grateful that Zhane had been with her, so she didn't die alone, but he couldn't help but feel badly. If she had remained here, then maybe she would still be alive.

It wasn't that he didn't love Kendrix. He was madly in love with her, he had been since they first meant. And he wouldn't trade anything in the world for the twelve years of marriage and still counting. He had everything a guy could want, a loving wife, a job he loved and two great kids. His life was perfect, but on days like today he found himself wondering and thinking about the past.

How does one turn on those who would have called him friend? Leo thought back to the Magna Defender, who had been both friend and foe, who was caught in between duty and revenge for the death of his son. In the end Magna Defender had realized the mistake of his ways. His mind soon drifted to Karone, who as a little girl had been abducted from her home, taken away from her family, and raised by darkness. But years later she would realize the truth of her past and eventually would make peace with her wrongful actions and what had happened to her; which made her death all the more tragic.

What was Dru Harrington's story, what caused him to turn? Leo heard his phone ringing. "Hello. Hey honey, yeah I'm on my way home right now. See you in a few minutes…"

"Do we know for sure?" asked Kat.

"No. We don't, but it's looking highly likely that Officer Harrington has turned on SPD." Cruger kept his voice down as he and Kat talked, not wanting this information getting any further than the two of them. The last thing he needed was information like this spreading down the halls, and finding its way to Sky, who wouldn't want to hear anything of it, even if the evidence pointed to Dru's betrayal. It would be difficult for Sky to accept that his best friend and former roommate betrayed SPD.

"Does Sky know?" her voice full of concern.

"No." He looked Kat hard in the eyes. "And no one's going to tell him," he exclaimed firmly.

"Doggie, you can't seriously be thinking about keeping this from Sky," Kat questioned seeing this as problematic. She felt it would do more harm then good. "He and Dru were roommates, best friends."

"And that's exactly why I won't tell him and neither will you," He looked her hard in the eyes wanting to make himself clear that Sky was not to know about Dru Harrington betrayal. "He has too close a relationship-"

"And that's exactly why you should tell him!" Kat exclaimed as she tried to get through to Cruger. She wanted him to know he was making a grave mistake, a very dangerous one that could cost lives down the road. "What if Dru shows up here, shouldn't Sky be aware that Dru is no longer with SPD?"

"When that situation arises I will handle it then," he announced making his words firm and final. "Until then Sky is not to know of Officer Harrington's believed betrayal." He looked Kat hard in the eyes. "And you will not undermine my decision and tell Sky behind my back."

"I just hope your decision doesn't come back to haunt you!" she exclaimed as she started to storm out of the room, but stopped halfway. "And for Sky's sake, let's hope we're wrong about Dru." Kat knew that if Dru had indeed killed Jones and betrayed SPD; it would hurt Sky and could push him more over then edge then he already is.