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Two Missing Rangers

A terrible nightmare surrounded Sky's sleeping mind. Grumm had won, and it was his fault…he had revealed SPD's secrets to the troobians. They had killed every member of B-squad right before his eyes. He could hear his father's voice, telling him he had failed… "Sky…Sky get up! Wake up Sky!"

Someone was shaking him, and Sky sat up with a yelp. "Whoa, calm down; you had a nightmare. Although, I have to say, this isn't much better."

Sky breathed in and out, trying to fully wake himself up. He blink up at Z, relieved to find she had returned. Then he noticed that her eye was turning black and her lip was bloody. His mind jump-started awake. He sat up, ignoring the slight twinge of dizziness that remained. "What happened to you?"

"Relax," Z replied as she wiped the blood from her mouth on her sleeve, "just a few cuts and bruises. I'm fine."

"Z, you look terrible! How can you say you're alright?" Sky argued. He gently turned her cheek so that he could get a better view of her injured eye.

"Gee, thanks Sky. You know how to flatter a girl," she hissed. "Ouch! Hey, that hurts!"

"Sorry." He pulled his fingers away from the eye, satisfied that the injury was not serious. "Why do you always have to pick a fight?"

Z snorted, "I didn't. The stupid doll did."

"You got beat up by a doll?" Sky could not help a slight chuckle.

Z rolled her eyes, "No, the doll 'decided' that Morgana should use me as a test against her new armor. Let's just say it is a lot harder to take a punch when there's no helmet between you and the fist."

"You just figured this out?"

"Ugh! Of all the people to be stuck with in a tiny cell, I manage to get myself captured with the arrogant, straight-laced, tirón of a blue ranger!" she shouted.

"It isn't like I wanted to get stuck with a piece of street-trash!" Sky retorted.

"Shut up, Sky!" yelled Z. "You stay over there, and I'll stay over here, then we'll both be happy!"

"FINE!" Sky bellowed, turning his back to her. He crossed his arms and mumbed about low-life thieves and stupid women.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jack, Sydney, and Bridge did not bother to line up; the emergency lights were not blinking although they had been summoned to the command center, and they knew that it meant Cruger had something to tell them. They willed themselves not to hope that they would be inform them of their teammates' safe return, but at the same time they tried to stop their imaginations from forming the vicious words they did not want to hear.

In the deadly silence that greeted the rangers' entrance, Jack could not help asking, "Where are they?"

Kat bit her lip and looked to the commander. Cruger sighed, "We have just received a message from Grumm. He has demanded that SPD Earth surrender within the month or…or he will execute Sky and Z."

"No!" Sydney gasped.

"Sir, we can't let that happen!" exclaimed Bridge.

Cruger held up a paw. "I know, but we cannot surrender all of Earth to the troobians, either. We are looking for any other options possible, but I must remind you that, should all fail, we must put the fate of the many over the life of a few."

"You can't be serious!" Jack shouted. "I am not going to abandon Z to torture and death!"

"We are not abandoning them, Cadet Landors! We will put all possible effort into your teammates' rescue," Cruger growled.

"The good news is that Grumm's message declares that Sky and Z are prisoners of war," Kat added.

"And how is that good news?" asked Jack.

"Oh, that's right!" Sydney exclaimed. "The GPS!"

"The what?" said Jack.

"The Galactic Prisoner Standard," Sydney replied. "You really should read the handbook, Jack. It outlines the GPS in that."

"The GPS is exactly what it sounds like; a document that defines a set of standards for the treatment of prisoners of war," Kat explained. "Believe it or not, the troobians signed it a long, long time ago. Long before Earth was even aware of life on other planets. Earth has only just been added to the list of planets and species affected by the GPS."

"What are the standards?" Jack asked.

"Suspended animation," Sydney answered, "so they can't be tortured."

"An approved form of suspended animation," added Kat. "It makes it easier for both sides. SPD uses the containment cards, the troobians use liquid amoragan."

Bridge took over, noting Jack's confused look. "Amoragan doesn't really exist on earth, unless it's brought here from a different planet. In any form, amoragan can be used as a sleep aid, often used in hospitals on other planets, or a powerful poison… which is the main problem. The liquid amoragan used for suspended animation is a mixture of several chemicals, to make it both safer and useful as a guard on prisoners, but it's mostly amoragan. Any serious cuts on a prisoner will be easily infected, which is why the troobians must treat any health issues with their prisoners before putting them to sleep."

"Something tells me that Grumm will accidentally conveniently forget all those rules," Jack mumbled.

"That's the bad news," said Kat.

"Grumm is allowed a week to heal any injuries and put them in suspended animation, but troobians rarely keep their word. I will contact him at that time to make sure he follows the GPS. If we catch him cheating, we will have legal grounds to invade his ship if he refuses to relinquish them to us."

"Like he needed legal grounds to invade earth?!" shouted Jack.

Sydney sighed, "Two wrongs don't make a right, Jack. It won't help us if we do something illegal and end up in trouble with Galaxy Command – or worse, the Galactic Association. The GA might be run democratically, but they have the power to order the termination of the human race. Of course, it takes them years to hold one trial, which is why the troobians are still at large."

"That's stupid!" Jack shouted.

Cruger shook his head, "The Galactic Association represents several billion planets, Jack, and every one of those planets gets a vote and a voice. They are trying to reform it, but it will take a long time."

Jack sighed, "How do we know if Grumm even has them? He could have killed them both already!"

Kat pulled up a file on the central viewing screen. "This is how we know. It was attached to Grumm's message." The rangers gasped. The screen displayed a picture of Sky and Z, both unconscious on a stone floor. Neither looked seriously injured, but the idea itself was horrifying. Their friends were out there, somewhere, trapped with a creature bent on their destruction.

"Hold on guys," Sydney whispered. "We'll get you out of there somehow."