Author's note: Chylea, I'm running out of ways to say thanks!

Ok, soI miscounted when I started this. There's maybe five chapters left to go. Enjoy!

In which Bridge finally shows back up, and the fighting's pretty much over.

Z's fight was all but over when Jack and his reinforcements arrived. D Squad were flagging, though, struggling to protect the injured cadets here without leaving themselves open to attack, and the arrival of three Rangers and five almost-fresh fighters meant it was over in moments. Jack rapidly appointed a group leader and called for five more volunteers, meaning he was leading a team of fourteen to storm the Command Center.

"Rangers." Cruger's voice startled them, and Syd wondered absently how long it had been since they'd left Shadow and Omega outside. "What is your situation?"

"Sir, communications are not secure." Jack said quickly. "Recommend you do not approach, repeat do not approach. The base is under siege."

"Acknowledged." Cruger said after a moment. "Shadow Ranger is ready to assist you."

"Understood." Jack flipped the communicator closed, glancing around at the others. "So Sam's on his way."

"We can't wait." Sky warned them. "We need the Command Center cleared, now."

"Agreed." Jack turned to the leader-of-the-moment. "Barricade that door behind us, understood?"

"Aye, sir."

Jack's communicator went off again as they paused outside. "Jack."

"Kat!" He snatched at his morpher. "Good to hear your voice, but the communicators…"

"I've secured this line." She sounded oddly tired. "Jack, have you found Bridge?"

Jack froze, staring at the communicator, and Z leaned in to say, "We thought he was with you."

"We got separated." Kat didn't bother to question their knowledge. "They were going to head for the infirmary, but now they're not answering."

"They didn't get there." Sky said. "Syd and I found a Bluehead there instead."

"Kat, we're going to clear Command, then we can use the internal sensors to track him down. Where are you?" Jack asked.

"Lower level labs."

"Boom's on level six, lab three. He…"

"Is he all right?" Kat interrupted him.

"He's in shock, but he's not hurt. I have him watching the security feeds for us. Kat, we left most of the cadets in the mess hall; some of them are injured."

"Got it. I'll find Boom and we'll go make sure they're Ok."

"Be careful." Jack warned her. "And the cadets will want a command level code before they let you in."

"Got it."

Jack flipped off the communicator and glanced around. "All right, guys. One more fight. Are we ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

C Squad met them a level below the Command Center. "Kat sent us." their leader told Jack hurriedly. "We'd found Boom; they're on their way to the mess now."

"We're expecting Morgana, possibly Broodwing, and an unknown number of Krybots." Jack told them.

"Try not to damage the consoles." Sky added. Z slapped him upside the head, and he glared at her. "What? They're expensive!"

Sam materialized beside them, glancing around at everyone. "Are we ready?"

"You know what's happening?" Jack demanded.

"I've been floating around for a while."

"Right." Jack glanced around, specifically looking at Sky, Syd and Z. "We're ready. SPD! Emergency!"

And just like that, it was all over.

Well, more or less, anyway. There was a lot of fighting first, but most of it blurred together for Sky. He did remember realizing he'd just demolished Cruger's chair in an effort to take down a Krybot; Jack did it for him, bracing him while he caught his breath.

"Sky?"

"Yeah?"

Mock-seriously, Jack told him, "Try not to destroy the fittings."

"Ha." Sky retorted.

Jack grinned at him, lifting his communicator. "Kat."

"Go."

"We have Command." A cheer went up from the cadets around the room, and he paused to laugh triumphantly before continuing, "How are your cadets?"

"One needs to be in the infirmary yesterday. Three others need care very soon. Apart from that, bumps and bruises."

"Good. Can you divide the mobile ones into teams? We need the base swept top to bottom, make sure there's no surprises waiting for us."

"Right." Kat agreed. "Boom's on his way to you; he'll start the internal scans."

"Ok. The cadets we have here will sweep this floor, so don't worry about that." Jack closed the communicator, turning to Sam. "Can you go find Cruger? I can't call him until we're sure they're not listening in."

"Of course." Sam tilted his head, managing to give the impression of smiling even under the helmet. "Good job, Jack."

Sky had turned to disperse the cadets as soon as Jack had mentioned it, and he sealed the door after them before turning back. He was in time to see Jack slide into a hunker at the base of the console, burying his head in his hands.

"Jack." Z knelt next to him, and he lifted his head to meet her eyes. "You did good, brother."

Sky looked away uncomfortably, locking his gaze on a shower of sparks falling from the ceiling. Across the room, Syd stared unseeingly at a destroyed console, absently turning her hand to metal and back.

"Boom!" she said suddenly and overloud, crossing to unlock the doors. Her warning gave Jack enough time to get back on his feet, all traces of indecision wiped away.

"Hi." Boom said uncertainly, surprised at the effusive greeting. "Wow. You guys did a number in here, huh? Did we get them?"

"Morgana got away." Syd told him. Sky blinked; he hadn't noticed her leave.

"But we did catch her Freak-of-the-Week!" Z put in, displaying the card.

"Boom, can you get the sensors running?" Jack asked. Absently he took the card from Z and put it down on the main console.

"Um…yeah. It looks Ok. I need to fix whatever Joanne did to them, though, so it might take a few minutes."

"Ok. Get going. We'll…" he looked blankly at the mess. "Start tidying, I guess."

It took Boom about ten minutes to get the sensors going, and another five after that to find Bridge's morpher…and, presumably, Bridge. It was stationary in a storeroom a little over half-way between the Command Center and the infirmary.

Sky was the first one in by a narrow margin, and he found Bridge and Joanne in the furthest corner.

Bridge was slumped against the wall in a corner between two sets of shelves, meaning he could only be approached head on. He was awake—at least, he looked at Sky as he approached—but there was no recognition there. Joanne was standing…more or less…in front of him, totally blocking him from the room. Her weight was mostly on her left hand, wrapped tightly around a shelf support, and her right arm was tied awkwardly to her side with a belt.

Bridge looked like hell, pale, feverish, and with blood matting his hair and dried down the side of his face. Joanne's back was towards them, but from the way she was swaying he didn't think she was in much better shape. Both were soaked from the sprinklers.

"Bridge." he said softly, and though Bridge didn't react he saw Joanne stiffen as though bracing herself.

Jack stopped beside him. "Bridge, man, we were worried about you. Joanne, move out of the way so we can get him out of there." Bridge's eyes flickered to Jack as he spoke, but there was still no recognition in them.

Joanne shifted again, blocking Bridge from both their views. "You'll not hurt him."

"What? Of course not." Jack wasn't really listening to her, too focused on his unmoving teammate. "Just move out of the way."

"Jack." Sky said quietly, aware of the girls just behind him, Joanne's ragged breathing, Bridge's frighteningly shallow breaths. "Jack, she doesn't know who you are."