The following day, the cadets assembled in a combat simulator, which was set up for an urban combat simulation, standing to attention in front of the panel.

Jason's gauntlet had whittled down their numbers nicely, and they were now down to only a dozen candidates left. As well as those that were cut as a result of the rather brutal exercise, another couple had been left with little choice but to pull out. Sometimes willpower alone wasn't enough to get someone back on their feet, that was just a sad fact of life. However, such was the nature of the selection process that the panel couldn't wait until everyone was up and about just in the interest of being "fair". Sometimes, they just had to accept luck was a factor.

The cadets were all still rather bruised up, and noticeably still suffering their lumps, but that wasn't the worst of it. Ravi couldn't help looking towards Roxy, who was standing in the front row, trying to put a brave face on things. It was still eating him up inside that they'd called it quits. She'd sent him a message when she got back to her dorm but he still didn't know how to respond, or even IF he should respond. He was still unsure himself if he had made the right call. Being a Ranger was something that would last what? Two years? Five? Perhaps six at the most? Roxy was the love of his life, that was something that could last him until he breathed his last, some day in the future, old and grey and surrounded by kids and grandkids that he complained didn't visit them often enough.

It was only his sense of duty that made him feel like he needed to continue. If he tried his best, gave it his all and was cut, was told he wasn't good enough for the Ranger program, then that would be one thing. If there was someone better for the job he could live with that, but if he pulled out, just quit and let someone else take the position, he would never forgive himself if anything went wrong. He'd always wonder if he caused it by thinking of himself instead of the people and letting someone less suited shoulder that responsibility. Roxy, for her part, was clearly hurt, but he couldn't help admiring her strength. She had shown up, front-row, ready for the exercise. He wished things could be different, he wished he could make things better. He wished that stupid rule didn't exist, but there was nothing he could do about it. Right now, he could only hope that in time she would forgive him. He wouldn't even blame her if she moved on and found someone else, as much as he hoped that they could rekindle what they had at a better time.

"Alright cadets, you stand here ready for a personal favourite of mine, urban armed combat!" Carter called out. "Behind me you will see a building. Inside that building, you will face a hostage situation. Your objective is to resolve that situation and free the hostages."

"You will be equipped with these." Jason told them, holding up a paintball gun. "A little lower tech than we're used to but for today it'll do. This will be used to assess your accuracy and let us know who shoots what. When you collect your paintball gun, you'll be given your ammunition, each member of your three-man team will be given their own colour so we can score you accordingly."

"The scenario is as follows, there are four hostages in the building, and an indeterminate number of hostage takers. There are multiple entry points; how you tackle the situation will be entirely up to you." Angela told them. "Needless to say, you will be scored on accuracy, time and most importantly whether or not you save your hostages."

"You'll be sent into the scenario in groups of three, and we'll select the teams. You will run the scenario several times; by the end of things we'll have enough data to cut half of you." Carter declared. "Alright, first group, Blaze, Parker, Beck, step on up and collect your paintball guns."

Blaze and two others stepped up to collect their weapons and their ammunition. Blaze was given green paintballs, while his team mates had pink and yellow.

"Alright, everyone step up to their mark!" Jason called out, gesturing to them. Blaze saw them turning away, and took the opportunity to take some pink paintballs, slipping them into his pocket. He stepped up to the line. "OK, your time starts...NOW!"

"OK, let's go, let's go!" Blaze called out, charging for the door, taking up position by the side, before swinging out and kicking it open. The three stormed into the building, sweeping the area with their guns, looking for the first of the hostage takers.

In another area of the city, Mayor Daniels was in his house, dealing with some business in his study. He was looking over some zoning maps with some of the most prominent members of the business community. He'd been a pretty good Mayor to Coral Harbour all things considered. He'd grown up in the city from a young age, working up from humble roots and so he liked to think he had a good grasp of what made the city tick, and more importantly what it needed.

He had found over his years in the position that his role was very much a balancing act, trying to balance as much as possible the needs of so many people. If he declared all the land public parks, then there was nowhere to build businesses and that meant there were no jobs, which meant that people very quickly couldn't afford to take care of their families.

However, if he gave businesses free rein over the city, then very quickly there'd be no leisure facilities. No parks, no gyms, no swimming pools, no social clubs. It wasn't enough for people to just have jobs; they also needed a reason to want to live there. No one wanted to live in a dirty, smoggy, overly-developed city. He was generally very good at keeping a good balance, with the city's harbours, parks and woods being a real feather in the cap that put Coral Harbour high on the list of the most desirable places to live several years running. Usually he was very good at it too, but of course, sometimes, people didn't quite see things that way.

"Look, all I'm saying is that's prime real-estate. If the city gives me planning permission, the mall I'm planning to build there will bring a lot of business in." One of the delegates told him.

"Yes, I'm well aware of your pitch, but if you..." He tailed off as there was a loud banging sound, like multiple explosions from right above them. He just coughed. "...as I was saying, if you remember the land has already been assigned to Grid Battleforce."

"Yeah, that and the Sonics' stadium." One of the others said. "How much land do they need?"

"Believe me, I understand your frustrations." Mayor Daniels said, looking to the plans. "Look, I've gone over this over and over and I honestly think this is the best balance for..."

There were more explosions, and a loud yelling and whooping from right above them. Mayor Daniels let out a sound from his throat that betrayed his aggravation.

"How many of these damn towers do they need? I thought this Morph-X was meant to be able to power a city with a few drops or something like that." One of them complained. "So why do they need so many towers all over the damn city?"

"Look, it's not just here they're developing for, Coral Harbour is going to be a testing ground." Mayor Daniels told them. "I have my reservations too but..."

He just stopped as more explosions came. He just breathed a deep sigh and looked to his visitors.

"Would you please excuse me gentlemen?" He said in a tone that barely disguised the depths of his frustration. He left the room and went to the stairs, heading up to the upper level. He pounded on the door, but there was no reply. He pounded harder; convinced it was possible that his son simply didn't hear him over the gunshots, explosions and screaming from his game. The door opened, and it wasn't his son that answered.

"Hey, Mayor D, how's things?" The young man answered. Mayor Daniels just sighed.

"Mike, always a pleasure." He said with the same diplomacy he normally reserved for his political opponents and cold-calling business callers. "Can I speak to my son?"

"DEVON!" Mike called into the room. "Your dad wants to talk to you!"

"I'm kind of on a roll here!" Devon called back. "What does he want?"

Mayor Daniels had heard enough and just pushed his way into the room. He was used to people trying to sweet-talk, coerce or bully him into doing what they wanted every day in his job, but he was damned if he was going to be forced to make an appointment to see his own son, especially not in his own damn house!

"DEVON!" Mayor Daniels roared. Devon paused his game and turned towards his father in his large, leather chair with built-in speakers. Mayor Daniels could hear the game all the way downstairs, he didn't even want to think of how loud it had to be for his son with speakers running all the way up either side of his head. How his son heard anything at all completely escaped him.

"What?" Devon asked him.

"Really? You can't think of any reason why I might be upset?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "I'm trying to conduct important business down there on behalf of the city and we can't concentrate because it sounds like you've got Seal Team Six in here for target practice!"

"You want me to turn it down?" Devon asked him. Mayor Truman looked completely taken aback by this. He was trying to help the whole city and all Devon could do was ask if he wanted him to turn down the noise so that his guests didn't think there was a war zone above their heads?

"That would be good for a start." Mayor Daniels said rather abruptly. "Is this what you're planning to do today?"

"I don't know." Devon said with a shrug. "We were going to head to the comic book store later I guess..."

"Devon, its Wednesday. It's the middle of the week." Mayor Daniels told him. "Do you know what kids your age are doing?"

"Here we go..." Devon groaned. He'd heard this so many times before that he could almost play out both sides of the conversation himself. He knew that his dad wanted him to be more like him, but they were very different people. Sure, when his dad was his age he was working to help the household because his parents didn't earn enough to run the house themselves, but that wasn't the situation he was in. He'd already graduated High School; he could go to college or get a job whenever he wanted. Was it really such a big deal if he had a bit of time to himself first after going to school non-stop since he was five?

"Don't take that tone with me!" Mayor Daniels snapped. Devon just turned off his console without even saving. He didn't care that he'd lost a couple of hours of gameplay in the process, he could easily make that up another time. He just wasn't in the mood to hear this lecture all over again. He grabbed his jacket.

"Mike, you want to get out of here?" Devon asked.

"Uh...OK." Mike replied. Devon didn't even stop to tell his dad where they were going or when they intended to be back. He really didn't want to fight with his dad, he'd done that enough lately. Mayor Daniels just shook his head in defeat, before heading back down to his guests.

Back at the assessment site, Blaze's team completed their run on the course. Hearing the call to cease fire, they all put the safety catches on their guns and pointed them in a safe direction as the panel came in to look around.

"Alright, you managed to complete the course in three minutes and forty seven seconds." Jason told them. "You're within a good threshold for time, now we just need to check out your objectives."

"None of the hostages have been shot." Angela said, checking the clothing on the volunteers that were posing as hostages. "So, that's a good sign."

"Pretty nice work on the hostage takers too." General Burke said, sounding impressed as he looked over some of the unfortunate volunteers. Many of them were so splattered by paint that they looked like a manic art piece. "A little trigger-happy perhaps, but the shots seem to have hit the mark."

"Wait, we have a problem here." Carter said, crouching down in a corner. "Alright, which one of you was using pink paintballs?"

One of the cadets held up his hand. Carter stood up and gestured to a propane tank that was sitting in the corner. There, right on the steel, was a pink paint splatter.

"Do you see a problem here?" He asked.

"I...I...I can't..." The cadet stammered. "I don't remember...I thought I hit..."

"You need to be careful; you can't just go in all guns blazing!" Carter told him. "Who was in this room?"

Three of the hostage takers and two hostages all held up their hands. Carter just sighed.

"You just killed six people." Carter told him.

"But..."

"Kid, your first duty is to the safety of those around you." Jason stated.

The cadet just sheepishly walked off to contemplate a mistake that had probably just cost him his spot on the team. As they all walked off the range, clearing it to be re-set for the next team, Blaze took the pink paintballs out of his pocket and dropped them out of sight. Carter, Jason and Angela were all heading back to their observation position.

"You put that in as a test right?" Angela asked with a knowing smile. Carter just smiled and nodded.

"One of the toughest lessons I ever learned." He replied. Angela just shook her head.

"Alright, next team up! Roxy, Ravi, Lance, you're up!" Jason called out. They all stepped up, taking their paintball guns.

"I...uh..." Ravi started to say as they were loading up. "I think that we can shave a couple of seconds off if we use..."

"Left hand entry?" Roxy asked. Ravi looked to her. It was the first time they'd spoken since the break up. He just nodded. "Sounds good. You good with that Lance?"

"As long as no one shoots me in the back." He responded as they all took up position.

"OK, you know the drill." Jason declared. "GO!"

Elsewhere on the base, Zoey was in the laundry with Ben and Betty, doing some folding. She'd been left with a huge load and the twins had been kind enough to offer to help. It was a tedious job, but far from the worst one in the laundry, and it did give them some time to talk.

"I don't know about you, but if I was Roxy, I might just have a little 'accident' with my paintball gun if you get my drift." Betty remarked as she worked through her bundle. Although Ravi and Roxy didn't broadcast their relationship openly, Ben, Betty and Zoey were all pretty close with Roxy. "A few dozen rounds straight to the..."

"Yeah, I think we get it." Zoey sighed. Being Roxy's roommate, she had been painfully aware of the relationship. "I know I'll get a lot more sleep now, but...I don't know, I really hope they figure things out. Roxy was really upset last night. I don't know if she's in the right head space for the rest of the assessment."

"What is there to figure out? They can't be together and be Rangers." Ben said with a shrug. They both looked at him. "Regulation 34C?"

"I know, but it's a dumb rule don't you think?" Betty asked. "I mean, it's one of those things that's a rule that makes you wonder why it's a rule in the first place. Like when some place said you weren't allowed to hunt deer from the second floor of a hotel or when a place made a law saying you couldn't paint pigeons and sell them as parakeets."

Ben and Zoey just looked at each other, then to Betty in disbelief.

"They're real laws! Look it up!" She protested. "The point is, it's a dumb rule, why would it matter if they were dating?"

"I don't know, but it's their rules, they make them." Zoey sighed. "I just wish it wasn't so rough on them."

"Them?" Betty asked her.

"What? Do you think Ravi will be doing cartwheels right now?" She asked. Just then, they heard a low rumbling growl.

"Ben!" Betty complained.

"What?" He asked.

"Ben, you've just had lunch!" Betty complained. "I just watched you hoover down three cheeseburgers."

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Ben protested.

They heard it again, only this time it was louder. They all looked around.

"OK, seriously, what is that?" Betty asked. Zoey's eyes suddenly went wide and she pointed behind them.

"Um...guys...don't...move...fast." Zoey told them.

"What is it?" Ben asked. Zoey just pointed behind them.

"Just...don't...panic." Zoey pressed on. Ben and Betty both turned around to see a live cheetah behind them. They both went pale and started to make panicked breaths as they started to back away around the counter.

"Is...is that a...?"

"Uh huh!" Ben confirmed. "We should run..."

"Ben, what good would that do? It's a freaking cheetah!" Betty reminded him. Zoey picked up a uniform and threw it on the floor near the large cat, hoping to distract it. It watched the uniform fly through the air, and land on the floor. It seemed to just stare at it, then back at them, almost like it was wondering what the hell they were doing.

"We should get out of here!" Ben whispered.

"How? The door's behind it!" Betty replied in a panic. Just then, Nate came in behind the cheetah.

"Guys, try to stay calm." He beckoned them. He started to approach the cheetah slowly. "Easy there big guy. It's OK, I know this place is unfamiliar, just...you took a wrong turn is all."

"Nate?" Zoey asked, looking extremely worried.

"He's one of my test subjects." Nate told her. "He's pretty gentle. Cheetahs aren't normally known for attacking humans, but it's for the best not to startle him."

"Startle HIM?" Betty asked, looking terrified. Nate approached it, beginning to pet the cheetah gently.

"He's on loan from the wildlife park. I don't know how he got out the lab." Nate told them, dropping some meat on the floor. The cheetah began eating. "I'll get him out of here. His handlers should be along to pick him up soon."

Zoey started to approach, slowly, cautiously as Nate reassured the cheetah. She felt a lot more confident now, seeing how gentle he was with Nate. Like any reasonable person, she'd been more than a little freaked out to see a big cat standing only a few feet from her, but now...now it really did seem like just a BIG cat.

"Hey...hey there fella." She whispered as she knelt down next to him. "I know these things are loud and they smell weird but...they're not so bad. They can't hurt you."

Nate looked to Zoey, completely amazed that she was approaching. She looked to him.

"Would it be alright if I...?"

"I think it might be alright." Nate assured her, seeing her just itching to pet the cat. "He was born in the park; he's used to the human handlers.

"He's incredible." Zoey responded as she started to pet him. "Is he part of...you know...?"

"I think it'd be a bit pointless to deny that now." Nate answered. "OK, I think we should be getting you back now. Come on!"

As he led the cat away, Zoey was still on her knees, watching them go with a bright smile on her face. Betty approached her.

"He's pretty amazing isn't he?" She asked.

"Uh huh!" Zoey answered.

"The cheetah's not bad either right?" She asked. Just then, they both heard a loud thud, turning in time to see Ben passed out on the floor. They both just looked to each other.

"You get his legs." Betty sighed as she grabbed his arms. "Come on bro. Let's go see if the infirmary has some smelling salts."

Back at the testing ground, Roxy, Ravi and Lance were nearing the completion of their exercise. They'd managed to clear out the building in excellent time and were just closing in on the last couple of rooms.

They got to the last room, at which they rested by the sides of the door. Lance took the point, kicking open the door.

He charged in, his eagerness to complete the exercise getting the better of him and took a few hits. Ravi and Roxy had held back, observing the situation first. Ravi had already clocked where the hostages were and where most of the gunmen were. He looked over to Roxy, locking eyes with her. She just nodded in response, he didn't need her to say it, he knew she had seen them all too.

When they made their move, without speaking so much as a word to each other, it was a thing of beauty to watch. Jason, Carter and Angela could only be impressed as they seemed to know exactly where each other was. Whenever one moved, the other covered them. They weaved a picture-perfect dance through the room, seamlessly sliding to wherever they needed to be to cover their most pressing attacker.

Ravi knelt down, shooting the gunmen either side of the hostages, just as Roxy used his shoulder to spring off, spinning in the air to catch the remaining gunman behind him. They came together in the middle of the room, looking at each other.

Ravi was lost for a moment as he looked at her. She seemed to be hesitant too, just staring at him, but as she raised up her gun, levelling it straight at his head, he didn't even flinch. Not even as the paintball sailed so close to his ear that he could feel it. He didn't even need to look behind him to know she'd hit one of the gunmen. He thought there were six, and he'd only counted five. Now he knew where the sixth went.

"Time!" Jason called out. "And...wow! That is...two minutes forty three! You're all going to have to work really hard to beat that time!"

He pointed to Lance as he got up.

"Dude, you're dead." Jason told him. "Step for a hint. Don't get killed, it really doesn't help the team much. Alright folks, lets clear the area and set up again!"

"That was..." Ravi started to say. "You did good."

"We both did." Roxy corrected him. As they both walked away, the assessment panel were all talking about what they had just seen.

"Seriously, that was incredible." Jason commented. "That was just...amazing."

"I have to agree, that was something else." Angela said, marking down some notes. "That wasn't just solid individuals, that's the kind of teamwork that normally takes years."

"I have to say those two are definitely high on my list." General Burke agreed. "Wouldn't you say so Commander Shaw?"

"Yes, yes of course." She responded.

"Alright people let's do this again!" Carter called out, selecting the next group. Commander Shaw could only look over to where Roxy walked away, looking completely miserable, and seeing the way Ravi looked after her. Suddenly her heart plummeted into her stomach, seeing Ravi look more miserable than she could ever remember.

"My God." She whispered. "What have I done?"