Roxy hadn't quite managed to go to sleep, being shaken awake slightly by movement on the other side of the bed. She smiled a little seeing Ravi sitting on the edge of the bed, starting to get dressed.

"You know, when some people sleep with their partner, they actually get to sleep with them." Roxy mused as she reached out, gently stroking his back.

"Some people don't have so much to do in the day." Ravi responded. "Have you seen my socks?"

"Oh Ravi, all work and no play." She said, pouting a little. "Don't you think it'd be nice, just once, to actually wake up next to each other?"

"Roxy, we both have that level four procedure exam today, I have study to do." He told her. "Not to mention my run, and I've booked time in the target range and…Damn it Roxy, I'm serious, have you seen my socks?"

"Maybe we can find them after breakfast?" She suggested.

"Roxy, I'm not kidding!" He said, getting up as he pulled on his trousers.

"Well, neither am I Ravi." She said, looking a little dejected. Ravi did feel badly about the clandestine nature of their relationship. It wasn't as though he was ashamed of Roxy, though he did fear that she felt like that at times. He just knew that fraternising between staff in the base was frowned upon at the best of times. They weren't even fond of people between departments dating, never mind anything else.

Roxy was one of the most wonderful, warm, funny and beautiful people he had ever met in his life. The moment they met it was like being hit by a truck. In truth he'd only turned his ankle on a curb, but even despite the severe sprain, when she helped him back to the car, he fell for her in a way that he thought only existed in fiction. He could hardly believe it when he saw her at the base, not even realising they had worked together for months without either of them realising it.

He could see the look in her eyes and his heart broke a little. He reached across, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"I'm sorry Roxy, there's nothing I'd love more than to stay." He told her. "But you know how intense things are getting now. Literally any of the cadets could be cut at any time now. We have to be at our best at all times."

"I know, it'd be such a tragedy if you got an A- instead of an A+." She remarked sarcastically. He leaned across, kissing her softly.

"We'll make time to be together soon." He told her. "I promise."

"Over on the dresser." She said, pointing. Ravi looked behind him and laughed a little, seeing his errant sock. He went across, pulling it on before retrieving his t-shirt. He pulled out his phone, which he used to hack one of the security cameras out in the hall to make sure he wouldn't be seen when he left. He took his opportunity and slipped out, heading down the hall towards his own dorm. He was almost there when he found Blaze stretching off in the hallway.

"So, Ravi, fun night?" He asked him. Ravi knew he should just ignore him. He knew that Blaze was trying to get him to rise to the bait and do something that would make him look bad. Both of them were close to the top of the rankings and there were already people not just saying they were likely going to be Rangers but actively debating which of them would end up leading the team. With the competition getting so tense, dirty tricks were being employed all the time, and Blaze was not above cheap shots. He was the one that started the rumours of nepotism that still hounded Ravi constantly. He doubted Blaze really believed the story himself, but if it meant there was enough doubt that it weakened Ravi's position, then he was not going to do anything to dispel them.

"Just an early morning run." Ravi responded. Blaze just smirked.

"Really?" He asked, before reaching to his shirt, pulling one of the exposed seams. "You often run around in clothes that are inside out?"

Ravi just rolled his eyes. Blaze knew damn fine what was going on. Then again, if the rumours were to be believed it wasn't as though Blaze was a stranger to 'night time activities' on the base. Besides, while it was frowned upon, to the best of Ravi's knowledge there was nothing specifically banning relationships on the base.

"I know it's a lot to ask Blaze, but just for once, could you not be an asshole?" He asked, before heading into his dorm. Blaze just snorted.

"Wow, I don't know whose bed you rolled out of but try getting out the other side in future." He chuckled to himself, before beginning his run.

After a few hours' sleep, Roxy came out of the shower and was getting dressed when she heard some sound from the kitchen area of her dorm. She headed in, finding her room-mate Zoey sitting, yawning loudly as she poured herself some coffee.

"You're starting early." Roxy commented.

"Well, unfortunately there are no such things as magical pixies that provide you all with clean, pressed uniforms so some of us have to get up early." She responded. Roxy checked her watch.

"It's only…"

"Yes, and I have a full shift in the laundry before the Level 4 Procedure test." She commented. "Not to mention this assembly they've got arranged. Of course maybe I'd have had a little more sleep if you hadn't had Ravi over."

"Oh, did we…?" Zoey just nodded.

"These walls aren't exactly thick, and you two are not quiet." Zoey assured her. "Hence the coffee. Don't worry, there's enough in the packet for another pot."

"Sorry." Roxy said, sucking her teeth. "It's just…you know…hard for us to make time for each other…"

"Oh, don't I know it!" She responded. "I don't think I've even met Ravi face to face and somehow I think I know him more intimately than his physician."

"Oh God." Roxy responded. "We…really are that loud?"

"Let's put it this way, if the mental images didn't keep me up, the noise definitely did." Zoey replied, downing the last of her coffee. "Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you at the test."

"Alright, just remember, its four o'clock!" Roxy reminded her.

"I've got it ingrained into my memory…even if there's a lot of stuff in there now I really wish wasn't!" Zoey teased her.

"Don't forget to wind your watch!" Roxy called out as Zoey left the room, closing the door behind her. She just let out a sigh. She really didn't mean to inconvenience Zoey and make things harder than they needed to be. Most of the cadets were lucky enough to be supported by their parents but Zoey's family couldn't really cover much of her expenses. She was working full-time in the laundry as well as studying for her Ranger tests, something that was already leaving her spread thin.

She opened another pack of coffee and put it in the coffee maker, turning it on, before pulling a couple of packets of toaster pockets out of the cupboard.

"So, is today a strawberry day or an apple day?" She asked herself. She just shrugged, before tearing open one of each packet and popping them into the toaster, pressing down the button.

On another part of the base, Commander Shaw and General Burke were standing, waiting on the arrival of some very special guests. In order to ensure they made the very best decision who would represent them as Rangers, Grid Battleforce had taken the decision to bring in a panel to make the final decision who would become their Rangers.

"Do I look alright?" General Burke asked her, shifting a little uncomfortably. "Does my uniform look alright?"

"It ought to; you had the laundry press it four times." Commander Shaw said dryly. She did find it a little entertaining to see her immediate superior and long time family friend so nervous. He was a veteran of several war zones, and even when he moved from front line duty to a command role, more often than not his office during conflicts had been less than a hundred yards from the fence line in most of the active conflict zones he had been deployed in. He had faced down gunfire, explosions and all manner of war machines, but now he was getting noticeably nervous around the prospect of meeting some dignitaries.

"Do my medals look alright?" He asked her. "Should I polish them? No, wait...maybe I shouldn't wear so many, do you think it makes me look like a show off?"

She just shook her head, laughing at him. He had every right to be proud of his career. If he wore only all the campaign medals he was entitled to wear, his great coat would be covered. By the time his accomplishments were taken into account as well, all his commendations and suchlike, he'd long since started only wearing the most prominent since he simply wouldn't be able to wear them all.

"You look fine." She assured him. "Look, here they come."

A limousine rolled up to the base, stopping right in front of them. The door opened and Ben got out of the passenger door, wearing a dress uniform. He scurried around as quickly as dignity would allow, straightening himself out before he opened the door. Betty got out of the driver's door, before joining Ben at the opposite side of the door, almost braining herself with a salute so quick the sound of bone cracking on bone could be heard so harshly even Commander Shaw winced in pain.

Carter Grayson, the former President of the United States, former Red Lightspeed Ranger and also one of the only former Rangers whose identity was known to the public came out, returning their salutes as he saw Commander Shaw and General Burke. He came over, shaking hands with them.

"I don't think that's entirely necessary." Carter assured them. "It's been quite some time since I was Commander in Chief."

"It's still an honour to have you." General Burke replied. "You remember my children, Ben and Betty?"

"Of course I do! Wow, you two have really grown." He said, looking to them both. A woman got out of the car, wearing a business suit. "Of course you remember my associate Angela Rawlings."

"I'm so glad you could join us." Commander Shaw greeted her. "It can't be easy spending some time away from the family."

"Oh, they should be fine for a couple of weeks." Angela replied. "Truth be told, it'll get me some peace and quiet for a change. Not to mention I'm hearing a lot of good things about Nate's tech."

"I'm perfectly sure he'll be more than happy to give you a full tour." General Burke said as another man got out of the back of the car. He was wearing a suit, along with some dark glasses. He had a crew cut, which was dark, but had just a few shades of grey within it. He had stubble that wasn't exactly messy, but clearly showed he was not overly bothered about formality. He also had a golden hoop in one ear. "I'm sure you can stand down and relax. My security will keep your charges well taken care of."

"I'm afraid you misunderstand...this isn't my bodyguard." Carter told him. "I declined Secret Service protection quite some time ago."

"Oh, right then." General Burke responded. "Sorry, I just presumed...I'm sure we can have some quarters made up for you..."

"I believe you already have." The man replied, taking off his sunglasses. "I am on the panel after all."

"You are?" General Burke asked, looking to Commander Shaw. She just shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but I should introduce you. It's kind of the drawback to a secret identity." Carter responded. "General Burke, Commander Shaw, I'd like to introduce you to Jason Lee Scott, the original Red Ranger."

"Consider yourselves in a very exclusive club." Jason said, shaking both their hands. "You're some of the very few people on the planet who didn't wear the Spandex that knows."

"I'm...I'm so sorry Mr Scott..."

"Jason, please." Jason assured him.

"You hear that? The original Red Ranger just told me to call him Jason!" General Burke said giddily, almost giggling, having a complete fanboy meltdown. Jason was one of his idols, one of the ones that inspired him the most, even though he had no idea who he was until this moment.

"Thank you all for coming." Commander Shaw finally said. "So, between the five of us, we're hoping to narrow the final thirty down to our three Rangers."

"It'll be an honour." Carter assured them. "I'm really eager to see this project finally come to fruition."

"It'll be a real change of pace getting to choose the Rangers." Jason said with a smile. "In my day, we chose the powers."

"Yeah, that's not the way I heard it." Carter interrupted him. "Didn't your team refuse the call originally?"

"Well, yeah, but we changed our minds." Jason protested. "We totally chose to be Rangers."

"Jason, Zordon teleported you all miles out into the desert and asked you to become his Rangers." Angela reminded him. "Then when you refused, he just opened the door and let you out into the middle of the desert, without any water, any mode of transportation or even directions how to get back to the city. That isn't a recruitment offer, that's a kidnapping."

"God damn it." He groaned. "I'm so going to kill Billy for telling you that story."

With that, they all headed inside.

Zoey was in the laundry when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around, seeing one of her officers standing behind her.

"Reeves, they're calling an assembly!" He told her. Zoey checked her watch, only to find that it had stopped. She rolled her eyes and headed out, checking her phone on the way. There was no way she'd be able to get cleaned up before she had to go to the assembly hall. She made her way there quickly, hoping that by slipping in the back she'd be able to make it through the assembly with no one noticing the fact she was out of uniform and hardly in a presentable state.

She slipped in the back, finding an empty seat as the cadets all filed in. She could see Commander Shaw, General Burke, and three other people standing on the stage. She remembered vaguely Roxy talking to her about a panel, and assumed that was what this was about. She wished she'd had time to make herself presentable, but here, skulking in the back and hiding from the others, she hoped that perhaps she wouldn't be noticed.

"Cadets! As you all know, the final assessments will soon be on us!" Commander Shaw began, looking out over her cadets. "When we began this journey, there were five hundred of you. Now, you number only thirty. Each and every one of you should be very proud to have made it this far. For your efforts, I assure you that Grid Battleforce will always have a place for you should you wish it. However, as you know, we must now narrow down our search to only three. That is where the people on stage now come in."

She gestured to the others.

"What you see here is a panel of experts with insurmountable experience and knowledge of what you'll face." She told them. "You will now be judged to the highest levels of conduct, discipline, training and character. Which brings me to the booklets you will see in front of you."

It was only then Zoey noticed the booklet on the table. She picked it up, beginning to thumb through it. Others were doing the same.

"Inside, you will find our full expectations for the level of conduct we consider befitting of a Ranger. Make no mistake; breaking of any of these rules will be considered grounds for instant dismissal from the program. I suggest you all familiarise yourself with it, as there are some differences from your original code of conduct. Ignorance of the rules will not be considered an excuse." She told them, looking to Ravi, who was starting to study up the rules.

She was proud of him for getting so far, and nothing would have made her happier than to present him with a morpher herself and declare him one of her Rangers, but she saw how miserable his life had become because of the constant harassment. She knew her son well and knew he was never going to violate the rules. She could see Roxy a little way off, looking at the new code, but glancing Ravi's way every now and then. Roxy was a fine young woman, one anyone would be proud of their child bringing home to the family. The only thing she could imagine making her prouder than giving her son a morpher was watching him hand in his resignation and insisting his future lay with Roxy.

Carter stepped up to the microphone to take over.

"As you all know, there was a time that I too served in the Spandex, and without exaggeration, it was by far the greatest honour of my life." Carter told them. "I look at this room and I'm reminded of the time I was quite literally in the Daemon Dimension, and I had to choose between saving myself and seeing to it that the forces of evil would never claim the Earth. Fortunately for yours truly, my friends found a way, but when I cut that line, when I was preparing to fall into the abyss, I did so without hesitation, without a thought for myself and if I was offered that same choice again right now, I would gladly do the same thing all over again. That is what it means to be a Ranger, and as I look at you now, I say this. I am looking for those who would do the same. May the Power Protect You."

With that, they started to pack up, but Commander Shaw grabbed the microphone.

"Miss Reeves, would you come and see me please?" She asked. Zoey froze on the spot as she was packing up to leave.

"Shit." She muttered as she realised that Commander Shaw had indeed seen her. She sheepishly made her way to the front as Commander Shaw gestured her to come towards her with her finger, before pointing outside. She stepped outside, only to turn to her.

"Commander Shaw, I'm sorry, my watch stopped..."

"This isn't the first time I've had to mention this Zoey." Commander Shaw told her.

"I know, and I appreciate that you gave me a chance but..."

"The code of conduct becomes your bible as of this moment Ms Reeves." Commander Shaw told her. "There will be no more chances. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Commander Shaw." Zoey sighed. With that, she left, heading back towards the laundry. She had more work to do before her exam later that afternoon. She just hoped that this was the last time she'd push her luck with the Commander.

In the hall, Ravi was still leafing through his new code of conduct when Roxy came up to him.

"Hey, you ready to hit the gym?" She asked him.

"I'm just going to study this for a bit." He told her.

"Ravi, it's exactly the same." She assured him. "I flicked through it; I've read it all before!"

"There might be some differences." He told her.

"Yeah, I'm sure there's some fine print or something." Roxy chuckled. "Tell you what, if you decide you want to do something fun, I'll be at Riptide alright?"

"I'll see you later." Ravi told her as she left. He went back to his study, and did indeed find that as far as he could see that the code had not changed in any way he could notice. That was until he found a passage he couldn't remember from before, one that hit him deeply. He had to read it a couple of times to be sure.

"In the interests of team unity, as well as to ensure that all Rangers adhere strictly to the priority of life protocols, fraternization between Rangers is strictly prohibited. The penalty for violation of this will be summary dismissal?" He asked. He just stared at the book, before running a hand over his face.

Later in the day, the panel was assembling outside one of the examination halls. Jason looked in, seeing all the desks prepared for the test.

"Wow, this brings back so many memories." He said as he looked back to Carter. "Am I the only one that thought we'd see more action in these assessments?"

"This is only part of it." Commander Shaw told him. "You don't need to worry; there'll be plenty of action later."

"I hope so." Jason answered. They watched as all the cadets came, starting to file into the hall.

"Alright, you all know the drill; leave your bags outside, no talking, no phones." She reminded them. She couldn't help looking around, hoping to see Zoey. She had reprimanded her earlier, but she genuinely did see something in her and was hopeful she would put in a good showing for herself.

"Something wrong?" Carter asked her. She just sighed and shook her head.

"I hope not." She replied.

Down in the laundry, Zoey wiped sweat from her brow and flicked back her matted hair as she grabbed her opponent, pulling once again with all her strength. She staggered a little as she finally dislodged the last load of laundry and pulled it onto the floor.

"Damn it Ben, how many times do I have to tell you not to overload the machines?" She yelled. She always had to yell. Down in the laundry was so noisy as a result of all the machines running that the only way anyone could hear anything was to shout at the top of their lungs. The heat was intense because of the dryers and the air was thick with chemicals. The industrial-strength cleaners created fumes that took a long time to get used to. They were only just this side of needing protective equipment to use, and it was just one more thing that made the laundry one of the worst places on the base to work. Zoey was used to it by now, but it still wasn't uncommon for people to get light-headed and more than a few people passed out until they started to become accustomed to the heat and the thick air.

She pulled the bundle off the floor and onto a table where she started to sort it into different piles. The whole place had a system, one that she created to try and make things just a little more efficient. Just because she hated the job didn't mean she wasn't going to do it well. She always believed in giving everything she did her all. She looked up as she heard some banging and crashing. She rolled her eyes as she saw Betty struggling with some clothing. Abandoning her station, she went to help her.

Betty was tiny, easily the smallest person on the base. Zoey liked her, she was a lovely, bubbly person and always keen to help everyone on the base, but she was way too small to be trying to carry the bundle she was struggling with. Zoey abandoned her work and came over, grabbing the bundle and helping Betty to struggle with it, shoving it into the machine. She slammed the door shut and started the cleaning cycle.

"Thanks." Betty wheezed, looking ready to pass out already. Zoey helped her to a seating position.

"Betty, what are you doing here?" Zoey asked her. "I thought you were in the garage today!"

"You asked me to cover you in the laundry when it was time for the Level Four Procedure test." Betty reminded her. Zoey shook her head.

"Betty, my test isn't until four." Zoey answered.

"Zoey, it's ten to four!" Betty informed her. Zoey just glared at her.

"Don't joke like that." Zoey warned her. "It's only three fifteen…"

Zoey looked to her watch, but after staring at it for a moment; she noticed that the second hand wasn't moving. She tapped it a few times, but to no avail. She grabbed Betty's wrist and stared at her watch, seeing the true time.

"Oh shit…no, no, no, no! This can't be happening!" Zoey rushed out, beginning to panic. Commander Shaw had already warned her once today that she wouldn't be getting any more chances. "Um…I need to shower and…no, wait, there's no time! I need to get to the tenth floor now! Betty…thanks!"

Zoey didn't even take her jacket, there was no time for a shower, there was no time for pretty much anything! She sprinted as fast as she could down the hall. Fortunately, someone was already getting in the elevator. Zoey slid into it, composing herself as much as she could. She could see the way that the others were staring at her. It didn't surprise her; she had to look like a nightmare! A shift in the laundry was like taking a workout in a furnace, but on top of that she was going to have to run almost the full length of the base in only a few minutes. The door opened and she ran down the hall, weaving in between people going about their business, throwing out a few apologies on her way.

In the lecture hall, Commander Shaw cast her gaze towards the clock. She was trying to stall for time, seeing one empty seat and knowing it was Zoey's. She had done everything she could think of, from giving the cadets time to have a quick question and answer session to checking attendance. However, now that the clock finally hit four, she could no longer justify holding on any longer. She just sighed and handed a stack of tests to Blaze.

"Start handing these out, then close the door." She told him, a note of disappointment in her voice. She had now done everything she could; it was now up to Zoey. She had however long it took Blaze to hand out the tests to show up.

Outside, Zoey got to the final straight and saw the lecture theatre. The door was open and Commander Shaw was standing at the front! She had time…but not much! She ran as fast as she could. She saw Commander Shaw pointing to the door, and put her head down, running for all she was worth. Her heart pounding, her breath burning, she could only put her head down and sprint like her life depended upon it.

Inside the hall, Blaze had finished handing out the tests, and went to the door. He heard something out front and cast a little glance outwards. He could see Zoey sprinting towards the lecture hall. A wicked smirk crossed his face as he remembered the incident in the canteen. He looked away from the door, feigning ignorance as he closed it, and stuck his foot by the door to stop it from moving. Everyone could only hear a sickening thud, and saw a patch of sweat the shape of a human forehead on the glass. Blaze just got a satisfied smirk on his face as he took his seat.

Zoey groaned as she found herself flat on her back, her forehead already starting to swell up from where it met only glass as the door was literally closed in her face. She was barely able to raise her head and could swear she saw Blaze smirking at her through the door as he went to take his seat. She wouldn't put it past him to have done it on purpose, but right now that was the least of her problems. Right now her issue was she was meant to be in the room!

She got up, and went to the door, knocking on it frantically. Commander Shaw came to the door, opening it, but she wouldn't let Zoey past. She instead came outside, closing the door behind her.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't…"

"Zoey…"

"I know I'm late, but it's only a couple of minutes!" Zoey begged her, her eyes flashing in desperation. "My watch stopped and I came as soon as I could and…"

"Zoey, I'm sorry but I'm afraid this is the last straw." She stated. Zoey's heart sank into her stomach.

"No, no, no please, you have to give me another…"

"Zoey, this isn't the first time." Commander Shaw told her. "In the last six months you've been late for class six times…"

"Please…"

"You've fallen asleep in class three times, you've turned up out of uniform twice…your test scores are barely above average…"

"Please, give me another chance! I promise I'll do better!" Zoey begged her, clasping her hands and doing her best to pull her best puppy-face.

"Zoey, I like you, really I do, and I see real potential in you, that's why I've given you as much leeway as I can." She told her. "Normally I run a three-strikes system, but I looked the other way because I knew your situation. But I'm afraid this is the last straw. I'm sorry Zoey, but we're only looking for three candidates. Cuts have to be made and it wouldn't be fair to cut a student who's making the grade."

"Please, please I'll do anything!" Zoey said, struggling to keep her tears from running. Commander Shaw put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Zoey, but my decision is final." She answered. "Enrolment for new programs is only a few months away. Maybe you'll find something then."

Zoey just nodded in understanding. It was just like the conversation she'd had with her High School principal when he held her back a year. Until now that had been the most humiliating experience of her life, but she could tell when the fight was over. Commander Shaw headed back into the class, shutting the door behind her. She went to her desk, sitting down with a deep sigh as she put her face in her hands.

Outside, Zoey felt tears welling up in her eyes. She'd tried, she'd worked so hard, she'd run herself ragged, done everything she could, but once again life had shown her that sometimes, that just wasn't enough.

Her heart breaking, she backed against the wall and slid down it, sitting on the floor. She brought her hand up to her forehead, where a huge bump was starting to form after literally having the door slammed in her face. She let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fuck." Was all she could manage to say.