The following morning, Dillon woke up finding Summer still resting in his arms comfortably, quietly sleeping. Since finding out that they were expecting a child, he found himself a little conflicted. He wanted to stay behind with Summer, to see her as the child grew and developed, and most of all, he wanted to be there when the child was born.
He had spoken with Summer long into the night after the celebration, discussing all their options. Despite their deepest wishes, they had only come to one conclusion. As hard as it was, they were going to have to face being apart. Dillon would be needed for the missions to find and liberate lost colonies. Summer couldn't go now that they knew she was pregnant; they couldn't take the risk that her condition would make them vulnerable in the field.
So they had no option but to accept the fact that for the time being at least, they had no choice but to separate. Much like Flynn and Sam, they would have to make do with the knowledge that he could return between missions. Until the baby was born at least, there was no way Summer could risk joining them in the field.
She looked so beautiful to him as she slept. She was so peaceful; the only sound reaching him was her soft, warm breath. He stroked her hair gently as he watched her, thankful for his luck in finding her. She was everything he had ever wanted and more. He looked to his watch and sighed as he realised that it would only be another few hours until he had to get ready to leave with the others. As much as he wanted to talk with her, to spend more time with her before they left, he didn't have the heart to wake her. Instead, he lay back down on the pillow, holding her gently. He could swear he saw her lips twitching into a little smile as he did this. He only had a few hours until he had to leave her, and he was going to make them count. This was exactly where he wanted to be.
Scott came into the main room of the Command Centre with Dr. K, stretching himself awake as he came to the conference table where a breakfast service was already being put on for them. Hicks and Mike were in the room with a creature that was clearly not human, obviously one of the Thesonians Mike had told them about.
As they approached, they could see why Mike had warned them that the citizens might be unnerved by them. The one he was talking to appeared to be around eight feet tall, though looked like it would be closer to ten feet if it wasn't hunched over. It had a huge, muscular, powerful frame that looked like it had to weigh close to five hundred pounds, covered in an unnatural, pale blue flesh. Its legs were thick and ended with bare feet with two finger-like appendages both to the front and back, that looked like they were as dexterous as fingers. On its upper body, it had four arms, each with hands the size of a man's head, each with four fingers. Its head was broad, and looked solid, though its pure black eyes held a hint of intelligence that belied its savage appearance. Its mouth was full of flat, stubby teeth, indicating it was herbivorous. It let out a few unintelligible grunts and snorts as it saw them. Mike seemed to respond in kind before turning to them.
"It's alright, Hilax here was just saying hello." He assured them, gesturing them over. Scott noticed him wearing a device that looked a little like a communicator clipped to his ear, with the mouthpiece coming down his right jaw line. He handed one each to Scott and Dr. K. "These are universal translators. They'll translate any language from within SPD's jurisdiction into a pre-set language. For your convenience, I've set these to translate into English."
"I guess this does save some hassle." Scott commented, clipping on his translator.
"Well it's that or the Anubis Cruger method and just learn all the languages of our member worlds." Mike responded.
"How many languages are there?" Dr. K asked out of curiosity. Mike just smiled.
"About 14,000." He answered. "Hilax, this is Scott, he'll be leading the expedition teams, and this young woman is Dr. K."
"She is the artisan who designed these systems?" He asked them, gesturing to the consoles all around. Scott was a little stunned at first, but soon got used to the device. So long as he was looking directly at Hilax, his native tongue was translated instantaneously into English. "But she is a child."
"I am not a child!" She snapped back at the creature. Its brows raised, clearly taken aback by her speaking to it so harshly.
"I apologise if I caused any offence." Hilax conceded, causing Scott to give a small sigh of relief. He didn't know how he was going to react to Dr. K. Clearly he was more upset at having offended her than angry at her snapping at him. "I merely meant to say it is unusual to find one of your species so accomplished so young."
"That's Dr. K alright; she's one of a kind!" Scott said happily, putting his arm around her. Hilax smiled at the display, or, at least Scott presumed it was a smile, though he wasn't sure.
"I am Hilax, the Khalikam of the build team." He introduced himself, extending a hand. Scott took it, feeling a powerful grip that felt like it was capable of crushing stone had he wanted. "I believe your word for it is...foreman."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Scott told him, retrieving his hand. Hilax repeated the gesture with Dr. K. "So your team is starting on the re-build today?"
"We started two hours ago." Hilax said with a hint of pride in his voice. "I merely came to confirm the blueprints with Colonel Hicks and Commander Mike."
"It's only 8 AM." Dr. K responded.
"It's alright; the citizen's accommodation is nowhere near the construction." Mike assured her.
"If you'll excuse me Commander, I must get back to my crew." Hilax told him, gathering the blueprints. "Without me there, they are under the direction of my son. He is a gifted artisan, but his work ethic troubles me."
As he left, Dr. K looked like she was going to say something, but Mike stopped her.
"The Thesonian work ethic is a little different. They average 18 hour work days." He assured her. "If he said his son's work ethic is troubling, he probably means he's taking a break."
"I see what you meant when you said they were an ideal construction crew." Scott remarked, looking to the door where Hilax had just left. "I also see what you mean when you say the citizens might find them a little scary."
"They look scary, but really they're harmless." He assured them. "By nature they're pacifists."
"Anyway, I have Vasquez sorting out the vehicles ready for you going." Hicks told him. "They're fully fuelled and ready to go."
"So all we have left to do is have the final briefing." Scott sighed, looking round to Dr. K. He wished he could stay longer, but they knew that the colonies they knew of, the ones that had sent out distress signals, had been isolated without aid since before the shields had gone up. They had to get out and help as many people as they could, while they could. He turned back to Hicks and Mike. "Have the Rangers rallied and ready for briefing in an hour."
In their room, Ziggy was enjoying spending the last of his few remaining hours before leaving with his son and his fiancée. Tenaya sat in the corner, playing with her engagement ring and smiling contentedly as she watched him holding Alex, singing to him softly. She didn't want to interrupt, being well aware of the fact they weren't sure how long he'd be gone.
Ziggy laid him down gently in his crib, alongside a plush green dolphin that he had bought him. He saw his son lying on his back, his little chest rising and falling with his gentle breaths. His lips moved a little, and his fingers seemed to twitch, indicating that he was dreaming of something.
A soft knock came on the door, and Hicks came in, causing them to look round. He looked a little apologetic.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the vehicles are ready." He informed them. "Scott wants you all in the briefing room at 9AM."
"We'll be there." Ziggy assured him. As Hicks left, Tenaya put her chin on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him as he looked down into the crib.
"Do you want me to take him to the briefing?" She asked him. "I know it's the last chance..."
"There's no point disturbing his sleep for that." Ziggy told her. "It's best he gets his rest while he can."
"At least we managed to talk Summer around." Tenaya commented. Ziggy nodded in response.
"Tenaya, I meant it you know." He told her. She looked at him a little puzzled, at which he tapped her engagement ring. "I really want us to be a proper family."
"Ziggy, we are a proper family." She told him. "I can wait for you."
"I just wish you didn't have to." He responded. "I wish we could have done this first."
"Think of it this way." She told him. "It just gives you something else to look forward to."
Ziggy smiled as she said this, drawing her in and kissing her softly. He turned his gaze back down to Alex.
As 9 O'clock came, the Rangers slowly assembled in the main conference room. Hicks and Mike were already seated, waiting for them. They all made their way to empty seats around the table, sitting down in silence.
"As you all know, the reconstruction of the city has already begun." Scott began with the briefing. "The Thesonians are already well under way."
"I'll stay here with them and my additional support staff, until the repairs are made to the city." Mike assured them.
Gemma sat, not really listening to this part of the briefing. While she knew that the rebuilding of the city was as important as their reclaiming of other cities, all she wanted to think about was the task at hand. Of course a large part of that was also down to Hicks.
She tried not to, but she would still cast the occasional glance his way. It pained her to leave him, but she was sure that if she hadn't done what she had, hadn't ended their relationship, then they would only grow apart. She couldn't bear not to have him in her life at all.
"As you know, Summer is no longer going to be available in the field for the foreseeable future." Scott told them. Summer forced a little smile as he said this. She was in two minds about it. While she was thrilled at the prospect of motherhood, it meant that she was going to be forced to watch Dillon go without her. She took out her morpher, handing it back to Dr. K. "We all wish her the best."
Dillon hugged her gently, taking advantage of one of the last opportunities to do so.
"Now that we've all finished with the pleasantries, it's time to hand out the first assignments." Scott continued as he started to pace the room. He looked to Dr. K sadly. It wasn't ideal that he had to go so soon after she had made the terrible discoveries about her life. He knew she was having difficulty adjusting to the new knowledge. The truth had been cruel to her in this instance. While it gave her back her identity, it also brought with it the knowledge that she had been quite literally sold out by the very people who should have cared for her the most. All he could hope was that she would confide in the others and they could help her when he couldn't. "We've prioritised all the signals we've received on a system taking into account, not only geographical distance, but also the age of the signal in the hopes we don't reach them too late."
"Gem, Gemma and Ziggy. The three of you are to take the VTOL jet." Dr. K instructed them, pulling up a holographic display of the field map. "We received a signal 579 miles south west of the city. If you take the jet, it shouldn't take you long to arrive."
"We'll check it out." Ziggy assured her, turning to Gem and bumping fists with him. Gemma just nodded in understanding, finally listening now that the briefing had turned to what she was to do.
"Dillon, Flynn and I will take a land APC and track a signal originating from this region north of the city." Scott continued with the briefing. He rested his hands on the table and leaned over, looking at the Rangers all one last time. "We move out in ten minutes. Good luck guys."
With that, they all got up from the table, heading towards the vehicle hangar. Hicks hung back a little, watching from a distance. Scott kissed Dr. K passionately as he got to the APC.
"I'll be back as soon as I can Sarah." He whispered to her, respecting her privacy. So far, she hadn't had a chance to confide in any of the others about the contents of the report. Scott got in, making his way to the driver's seat. Flynn got in next, leaving only Dillon to enter.
He took Summer by the hands and looked into her eyes.
"Take care Summer." He instructed her softly, leaning in and kissing her gently. She just nodded in answer to this. "Take care of the baby."
With that, he slowly got into the back, releasing her reluctantly, before closing the side door. The engine fired up, and the vehicle pulled away, leaving the Command Centre. Summer wrapped her arms around herself defensively as her tears started to form. Tenaya came to her, hugging her as she watched the man she loved disappear into the distance, with no idea when he would come back.
Gem got into the VTOL, waving to the others as he made his way to the cockpit. Ziggy then turned to Tenaya, cupping her hand with his cheek.
"We'll get that wedding as soon as I get back, I promise." He assured her. Tenaya nodded, confident that if he promised it, then he would do everything in his power to make that happen. He got into the back, strapping himself into the seat there.
Gemma made her way up the ramp, stopping and turning back one last time as she went. Scanning around, she finally caught sight of Hicks in the background, standing with Vasquez, preparing for their departure.
He lifted his hand up, waving at her. She smiled in response, waving back, before turning and heading into the vehicle, strapping herself in.
Gem flicked a few switches, preparing the take-off procedure before closing the back entrance. Gemma gave one long, last look out as the hatch slammed shut with a heartbreaking finality, shutting the man she loved on the other side.
As the roof opened up, allowing them to rise slowly, Ziggy caught a look at Gemma's face, seeing tears running down her cheeks.
"Is everything alright Gemma?" He asked her, a concerned look crossing his face. Gemma just nodded.
"I'll be fine." She lied as her hand strayed to her chest. Her fingers started to gently stroke where the dog tags were hanging just under her shirt. The metal was warm, and felt strangely good against her skin. As she ran her fingers over it, she could feel the indentations of his name stamped onto the steel.
Seeing the light flooding in as they finally cleared the building, Gemma leant back in her seat, staring at the ceiling as she held the dog tags softly in her hand. Her tears ran a little more freely now as she thought about him. It hurt just to think about him, but having that little piece of him near her was the only thing she needed.
Fin
A/N: This is the end of this story, but I am planning more RPM. The next story will be more of a serialised continuance than a sequel, and will cover the trials and tribulations of the Rangers and their families as they work to rebuild their shattered world. Hope you all enjoyed this.