In which there's fighting, and...um...well, there's fighting...
On the other side of the building Jack and Z had reached the Command Center—or almost, anyway. They were currently holed up in a utility closet two corridors over, hiding from the Krybots roaming the halls.
"Not good." Jack muttered, shoving a mop out of the way and leaning against the wall. "They've isolated the Command Center."
"Jack, have you seen any of our people?" Z asked. "I've only seen aliens and Krybots."
"Yeah? And?"
"They must have our people somewhere. I'm thinking we should go look for backup."
"Yeah." Jack nodded. "Yeah, Ok. Let's head down to the Labs—there's a weapons locker down there, and we can check the security feeds, find out where our guys are." He poked his head out through the door, checking for onlookers before stepping out fully and opening the door for Z.
The labs were deserted when they reached them, and Z quickly began calling up the security feeds. Jack paced back and forth between the doors, watching for intruders.
"Ok." Z said finally, and Jack abandoned his pacing to stand behind her shoulder, watching. "Looks like there's a bunch out in the training field, including D Squad. Some in the lower level rec room, and some in the mess hall."
Jack winced. His status as an upper-level cadet meant he could use the 'Synth in the upper level rec room instead of the mess, but he'd heard the cadets complain about it often enough. "Poor kids." he muttered. "Can you do a head count?"
Z shot him a 'you must be crazy' look. "It's about right. I can't find C Squad, Kat or Boom anywhere."
"What about the infirmary?"
"Sky and Syd are there, but no Bridge. I can't find him, either."
"They alone?"
"They are now."
Jack raised an eyebrow at the trashed infirmary and the BlueHead in at least three parts, but all he said was "Sky? Syd?"
On the screen, Sky's head tilted. "Yes?"
"What's going on?"
"They don't have Bridge. But we can't find him either."
"Ok." Jack took two breaths. "I need you guys to head out to the practice field. D squad and a bunch of mid-level cadets are being held out there."
"We're on it…any sign of Bridge?" Z glanced up from the screen, shaking her head.
"No. Kat's missing, too, and Boom, C Squad…" his tone altered as he finished, "…and Joanne. They're probably holed up somewhere planning something."
"We'll call you when the cadets are free." Sky said, cutting the transmission. On the screen, Syd waved at the camera before following him out.
"Z, can you handle the rec room?"
"Sure." Z agreed. Catching Jack's arm as he turned to leave, she added, "Be careful, brother."
"Always." He grinned at her.
Z's grip tightened suddenly and he looked back in surprise. She was staring at the wall, where some very odd noises had started.
"What is that?" Jack muttered, taking a step towards it. Z skipped to her feet, moving around the lab in the other direction.
A panel flew off the wall and someone crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust. Jack jumped on it from behind, Z piled on from the front, and for a long minute no one was sure what was happening.
"Jack. Jack! It's Boom." Z yelled, tugging at Jack's fist. Jack let him go, scooting backwards and letting go of Z's arm.
"Sorry, Boom. You Ok?"
Boom brushed himself off, sitting up awkwardly. "Yeah. I'm good."
"Do you know what's happening?"
"Know? I've been…" Boom stopped suddenly.
"What happened?" Jack prodded.
"Just after Kat sent the Runners Morgana teleported in with a bunch of Krybots, right into the Command Center. With Commander Cruger and Omega Ranger gone we didn't have a chance. They were all over the base, all the cadets were caught…" He trailed off.
"Boom, what about Bridge? And Kat?"
Boom shivered, looking away. "Kat and Joanne were with Bridge. Morgana came looking…she dragged them up to Command and tried to make them tell her how to run it. How to transform to the Delta Base."
Jack met Z's eyes over Boom's head. Shock, Z mouthed, and he nodded.
"What happened?"
"Bridge was awake, more or less, and he wouldn't tell. Kat was…she didn't tell either…Joanne helped them, in the end."
"She…Joanne helped them?" Z demanded.
Boom shook his head urgently. "Not what you're thinking. She let them hurt her, she didn't say anything, but when Morgana hurt Bridge…Joanne promised then, to stop her."
"Joanne doesn't know anything." Z protested. "She's not even SPD. Why would Morgana even…"
"She was wearing Kat's uniform." Boom laughed, high pitched and almost hysterical. "Someone spilled on her in the mess and Cruger wouldn't let her leave. Kat gave her a spare uniform…Morgana thought she was a tech."
"But she doesn't know anything. She couldn't have told Morgana how it works." Z repeated.
"She could if she was asked." Jack realized suddenly. "Boom, what happened?"
"Um…" Boom winced, concentrating. "Joanne went to the controls, to switch the Base over, and then she looked back at Kat and Bridge and said, 'You understand why? What do I need?' and then all the lights went off and the sprinklers and alarms started and when the lights came back they were gone, all three, and all the consoles were shut down."
"Kat fed her the codes." Jack grinned. "She'd have seen her way out…"
"Where were you?" Z interrupted him, and he looked down at Boom. "Boom, where were you?"
Boom didn't answer, looking away, and Jack caught Z's eye and shook his head. "Boom, we have to go. The cadets are being held and we need to go get them. Will you stay here?"
"Sure." Boom waved them off.
"Don't touch anything, Ok? Just wait here until we call you."
Boom laughed again. Definitely hysterical, Jack thought with a sigh. "Oh no, I'd break it anyway. I'll just sit."
"Boom. You did good. Ok? Kat's free, somewhere."
"I hid." Boom suddenly met his eyes, deadly calm. "I was in Command, I saw them, I hid. Snuck into the wall. I could hear them, Joanne and Bridge…and I hid. Didn't move."
"That's smart." Jack told him. "Not a help if you get yourself killed. It's smart to hide."
"You're not hiding."
"I'm not on my own, either. Look, Boom, we have to go. Can you monitor the security cameras, warn us if we're going to be ambushed?"
"Yeah." Boom looked at the screen. "I can do that."
"Good man." Jack said it as warmly as he could. "Don't go anywhere, Ok? We can't call you unless you're here."
"No, I'll…I won't move."
"Good. You see Kat or the others give a holler. Z, you ready?"
"Yeah." She smiled at Boom as they left.
"Poor kid." she murmured, once the door was locked.
"Worry about him later. We got fights of our own to take care of." Jack advised her. "Good luck."
"Be careful."
D Squad was already fighting when Sky and Syd arrived at the practice field. Two of them were down, and the others were clearly losing. Sky and Syd exchanged quick glances before charging into the fray, morphing as they went and rallying the squad.
Within moments the Krybots were motionless on the ground and Sky and Syd demorphed. "Anyone injured?" Sky asked.
"Two before the fight." D Squad's leader gestured to four cadets huddled protectively a safe distance from the fight.
"Anyone else?"
Another cadet raised her hand and someone went to check her out.
"The infirmary's clear." Syd was telling D Squad's leader. "Take your people there and barricade it."
"Aye sir."
Sky had pulled out his communicator. "Jack?"
"Not a good time!" Behind his voice they could hear fighting; from the sound of it he was in the middle of a major riot.
"Jack, where are you?" he demanded.
"Mess hall—hiyah!" The communicator clattered and his voice was suddenly much further away.
Sky gestured to Syd, who clicked her communicator open. "Z, where are you?"
"About to launch an attack." she said breathlessly a moment later. "If you don't give me away first, anyway."
"Where are you?" Sky asked. Jack had apparently managed to get his hands on his communicator again, but he was too busy to use it.
"Lower level rec room. Why?"
"Jack's in trouble."
"Damn." Z cursed softly. "You guys done?"
"We have D Squad and approximately thirty other cadets here. I'm sending D Squad to you. We'll go and help Jack."
"Ok. I'm in…"
"Guys!" Jack interrupted. "They're listening in to the communicators!"
Sky snapped his shut, gesturing to Syd who closed hers as well. "Cadet Browne, you have field command of D Squad under Cadet Delgardo, understood? Go! Who's taking the injured to the infirmary? Remember, no communicators! Everyone else, with me!"