"You want to do what?" Commander Shaw asked.
"I won't be revealing anything about Beast Morphers or Grid Battleforce," Kelly explained to her boss. She had tracked Commander Shaw down that morning to propose her most recent project. Unfortunately, Commander Shaw was a bit hesitant about it. "It's just… this city and the country knows that Sarah and I are former Rangers working on a Ranger project now and… well, it's causing a bit of trouble."
"Does this have to do with the news reported last night?" Commander Shaw asked. Kelly nodded her head. At least the commander was aware.
"Everything. Sarah revealed a lot of personal information when she was outed as the pink Ranger, but it was also a lot about becoming a Ranger. She didn't get to talk much about her personal life, and I have to say, it's pretty complicated."
"And you want to share that?" Commander Shaw asked. "I'm assuming you have your fiancée's permission to do this?"
"Not yet. Sarah isn't exactly herself right now," Kelly said with a sigh. "But no one knows her story better than me."
"I'm not releasing a story about someone without their permission," Commander Shaw stated. "Your job is to ensure that the city is comfortable with the Power Rangers and they're kept informed with information necessary to their safety, survival and a few extra facts, just to keep them comfortable. We're not a gossip magazine…"
"Commander Shaw, this isn't gossip," Kelly told her. "This is the story of one of the former Power Rangers, and one of the few Power Rangers to have their identity revealed. You'll have Sarah's approval before I release anything but I really think this will help the Rangers and help Grid Battleforce."
"Can you explain?"
"Sarah's history, her family, is pretty complicated – and complicated is confusing. If people are confused, they're going to be scared. This connection the media is making between Kathryn and Sarah is wrong."
"Sarah is not her mother…"
"We know that," Kelly said. "But Commander, a lot of people don't know, or won't understand that. They don't know Kathryn's been out of Sarah's life for over a decade. They don't know the people who raised her, the ones who influenced her and made her a good person. If all they see is a drunk, drug-addicted prostitute, that's what they'll associate with Sarah. And Commander, not to take anything away from you, but who's the biggest face of Grid Battleforce right now?"
Commander Shaw considered that question. While Grid Battleforce was her project, which she built from the ground up, and she made sure she was always present for the media when they arrived, her reputation stopped there. Commander Shaw was only known for Grid Battleforce. When she hired Sarah, and when Kelly joined the team later, they were familiar faces. They were the people the city already knew they could trust. They were the experience that Grid Battleforce and the Beast Morphers team would need to have an advantage over their enemies.
"We know who Sarah is," Kelly told Commander Shaw. "Let the rest of the world see it too. I promise, Grid Battleforce and the Rangers will benefit from the truth being out there."
"I need Sarah's approval on this project before you run it by me," Commander Shaw stated. "And you will run it by me before you release it."
"Like always," Kelly smiled. "Thank you, Commander."
"Thank you," Commander Shaw nodded. As Kelly made her way back to her office to get started, Commander Shaw started to make her way to the labs. She was stopped just before she got on the elevator by Sarah.
"Commander, do you have a minute?" Sarah asked her and the Commander nodded her head.
"Kelly mentioned you weren't yourself this morning," she said. "Is everything alright?"
"I just have a lot on my mind," Sarah said. "I wanted to ask you for… something of a day off for the Rangers."
"You want a day off? We just got started and…"
"They'll keep their communicators on their person the whole time," Sarah said. "I'll run them through training when we're done so they don't fall behind and I promise, I'll keep up with my own work too."
"You're asking for a lot of time lately, Sarah…"
"Commander, you hired me as the Ranger expert," Sarah reminded her. "You know I want to protect the city. You know I want this to be the best team they can be. Isn't it fair to trust my judgement here and assume I wouldn't be asking for this if it wouldn't help them in the long run?"
Commander Shaw nodded her head as Sarah raised an excellent point. Though she was the woman in charge, she knew when someone else had more experience and knowledge then her. It was why Grid Battleforce was run by experts in their fields. When it came to saving the planet, there was no room for ego. Commander Shaw had an understanding for all the departments that worked in the building, but she would never claim she was an expert in any of the fields.
While she knew enough about battle, training heroes and raising kids to be the best they could be, she had to admit, this was the very reason she hired Sarah. She wanted someone with experience to help build the best Ranger team she could get. If Sarah, the expert, deemed it was important, then Commander Shaw had to trust in her instincts.
"Alright," she agreed. "But there will be training."
"They won't go home without a good butt kicking," Sarah promised with a smile before she raced off. Commander Shaw just sighed loudly as she watched her go.