Chapter 2 - Trust?
September 28 2002 - Hexagon Headquarters, Angel Grove, CA
On their arrival in the city, Andros and TJ were surprised that Hexagon agreed to meet with them so quickly as there was a lot of bad blood between the Space Rangers and their predecessors. This would be the first time they returned to Angel Grove since they left the plant nearly four years ago, mostly down to that argument between the teams. The meeting was scheduled for the following morning and with the others away from the Megaship, they had nothing to do but explore the city.
Their first impressions were that the city had done an excellent job repairing most of the damage. The central square where the Space Rangers had destroyed Darkonda was now dedicated to them. Statues of the six rangers looked down protectively on the square, a sign of the respect from the citizens of Angel Grove. Underneath the surface though, something was different but the pair couldn't put their fingers on it. Thanks to their meeting with the Galaxy Rangers, they knew that most of the original residents of the city left on Terra Venture. Leo said that before he left, the city was practically a ghost town. Now though the city was bustling but there didn't appear to be a mixture of people like there was before. There were no families or senior citizens, instead everyone appeared to be in their early to mid twenties. Young professionals TJ called them but quite why they had made Angel Grove their home, neither of them knew immediately.
The answer soon became clear the next day when they travelled to the outskirts of the city. Hexagon Headquarters was impressive to look at. Taking inspiration from the Pentagon, the building was six sided and several stories high. The front entrance was an impressive glass and metal structure that covered the front side. The rest of the building was rather bland, consisting of concrete painted a dulled beige colour. At the main door was a lightning bolt structure that mirrored the logo for the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Andros snorted at the sculpture and the prominence that it was given in the building, "Clearly someone's ego needed to be boosted".
TJ though noticed that most of the staff coming through the door were the same as the people they had seen in the city the previous evening, "Looks like Heaxgon has repopulated the city with their own staff", he whispered, "why do they need this many employees, they've only got a handful of rangers on their books?"
"I dunno, maybe we'll find out during this meeting", the red ranger replied. As they sat in the reception area a few people turned their way and stared in disbelief. A few nudged their co-workers on the way past and whispered. The pair put on a forced grin and gave them a wave, "I've forgotten how much I hate the attention", Andros sighed. The Space Rangers were still famous on Karovia but after four years, most off the attention had died down. Now they were more famous for the work they put into rebuilding the Karovian legacy.
"Mr Andros, Mr Johnson", the receptionist called out, "you can go through now".
TJ frowned, "Don't we need an escort?"
"You're Power Rangers, I think you can be trusted", she replied sweetly, "Mr Scott and Mr Oliver are waiting for your in Test Area B". The receptionist pointed through a door behind her, "Just follow the signs, it's not hard to miss".
The duo nodded their thanks and walked through the door. The corridors all looked the same but they followed the signs as instructed, "She was very trusting", TJ stated.
"More ego boosting", Andros replied, "this time they boosted ours by implying that we're trustworthy people. That way we won't be quite so on edge for this meeting".
The blue ranger frowned, "You are one cynical human being", he shook his head.
After about five minutes it was becoming clear that Test Area B was on the other side of the building. They had already passed through two sides of the hexagon before finally reaching their destination. After passing through one set of doors, they were confronted with armed security guards. They thought they were going to search them for weapons but after flashing their morphers, they were allow admittance without any further questions.
The pair were ushered through the door and immediately got the surprise of their life. Test Area B was a giant hangar that took up the entire third side of the hexagonal shaped building. In front of them were three zords under construction, a red hawk, a giant yellow lion and rather weirdly, a blue dolphin, "So how will that move", Andros frowned, "unless all zord fights take place near the sea".
"Now that is a closely guarded secret, not even we know that yet", a deep voice called out.
The two Space Rangers turned around saw Jason Lee Scott and Tommy Oliver for the first time in four years. The original red ranger look very similar to how they remembered but something was different about Tommy, "You've cut your hair", TJ commented.
"Ha, you owe me ten buck bro", Jason slapped his friend on the arm, "I knew it would be the first thing they noticed".
"Yeah it was getting too much to handle", Tommy sighed, "especially when you've got a young child who keeps pulling on it".
"Yes I heard that congratulations were in order", Andros replied stiffly, "I bet that was a surprise to you and Katherine".
"Tell me about it", Tommy said with a forced smile. He pulled out his wallet, "That's Ben he's nearly eighteen months old now".
"I bet he's proud of the work his Daddy does", TJ stated but the two older red ranger weren't sure how to take the comment, "how's Kat is doing?" he added.
"We'll have plenty of time to catch up", Jason jumped in front of TJ's question, "I saw you admiring the new zords".
"They do look impressive", Andros commented, "is this for the animal based team we heard about in Turtle Cove".
Tommy shook his head, "Nah they've already got their own fleet of zords, these are for the Wind Ninja Academy, they were our first clients".
"Are you also training future rangers as well?" TJ asked, "cause you've got a lot of space in this building".
"We've decided to let the power choose the most appropriate person", Jason replied, "as your team knows too well, you never know who's going to going to fill the tights".
Inside Andros was seething, he was sure there was a hidden jibe towards Karone or the rest of his team. Externally though his face was a mask of calm, "Very true", he replied tersely. TJ kept glancing nervously in his direction, he had been around Andros long to know when he was about to blow, "But we didn't come all this way to discuss that", he added.
"Yeah your call did sound rather urgent", Tommy began, "I'm surprised that you were just in the area".
TJ took a deep breath and began to tell their story, "About a year ago we picked up on some chatter about the Machine Empire. Initially we dismissed it as we thought the Empire was destroyed but then the chatter got louder and more frequent".
"We traced some signals and followed them across the galaxy until we tracked them down to the Moon", Andros continued, "and to our surprise we found a fleet of cogs and some Empire Generals all under the Command of General Venjix".
"Venjix?" Tommy asked, "Are you sure because I thought the Empire destroyed him for treason".
"Exiled but not destroyed", TJ replied, "and it gets worst, Venjix has uncovered Serpenterra and has found a way to power it".
Jason and Tommy took a step back in shock, remembering only too well the terror that Lord Zedd's personal zord caused. It was Tommy's first mission as leader to stop Serpenterra, something they achieved more through luck than strategy, "Not that we don't believe you but are you 100 percent certain?" Jason asked.
"Take a look at our footage", Andros thrust a camera in their direction. A few moments later, the colour drained from Jason and Tommy's cheeks, "Satisfied?" the Red Space Ranger said with more than a hint of venom.
"This is serious", Tommy began, "thank you for bringing this to our attention".
"What that's it?" TJ began, "thanks for risking your lives now run along", he snorted, "I see nothing's changed".
"You're forgetting that Hexagon is responsible for Ranger deployment on and around Earth", Jason began, "you can't come back and tell us how to run things".
TJ was about to fire back but Andros raised a hand to silence him, "Look we've had our differences in the past but this is bigger than our petty arguments. This will require the cooperation of everyone, regardless of where their loyalties lie".
The Red Zeo Ranger thought about this for a moment, "You're right and I think I've got an idea", he paused for a moment, "we're all red rangers here so why don't we assemble every red ranger and take down Serpenterra". Andros and TJ thought about this for a moment and slowly nodded in agreement.
"I'm sure Carter will agree without hesitation", Jason began, "I'm not sure about Wes from Time Force, we've had some difficulties with them in the past".
"Lost the legal battle then", Andros smirked, "just because we're not on Earth doesn't mean that we don't know what's happening".
"An out of court settlement was agreed on by both parties", Jason stated.
"Well it's a good thing for you that Carlos, Ash and Karone are in the area", TJ began, "perhaps they can have more luck persuading him".
"I'll contact Leo on Mirinoi", Andros added, "then all we need to do is rope in Aurico and we'll have a pretty good squad".
"Don't forget about the new guy", Tommy stated quickly, "we'll dispatch someone to Turtle Cove immediately".
Andros nodded, "Alright if there's nothing else to discuss then we'll be in contact", he turned away and quickly left with TJ in tow, "That was harder than I thought and I swear if anyone has another crack at Karone then I won't be responsible for my actions".
"Don't worry man, I'll back you up on that", TJ patted his shoulder, "we'd better tell the others what the plan is".
Back in the test area, Jason breathed a sigh of relief, "That could've been worse".
"Yeah it also could've been better", Tommy scolded, "did you have to imply that Karone wasn't a worthy ranger".
"She stole someone else morpher", Jason stated, "perhaps her and Eric Myers should form their own little team".
"Gentlemen", Phil Spader appeared from the shadows, "we've got them onside that's the main thing". He adjusted his tie, "But this little exchange makes me nervous, if you can't keep your thoughts and emotions in check..."
"I will", Jason replied.
"Good to hear", Spader frowned, "but you both came close to blowing this, fortunately Tommy redeemed himself with the red ranger suggestion". Spader paused for a moment, "Perhaps it would be unwise for Mr DeSantos to join your little mission though".
"Sir that's not fair", Tommy began, "Rocky's worked harder than anyone to ensure the success of Hexagon".
"And so he should", Spader snapped, "it was his childish outburst that nearly caused it to fail before it even started. Even now we're well short on the number of members the board wants. If we're going to gain the trust of the Space and Galaxy Rangers again, everyone needs to be on their best behaviour".
"You can count on us", Tommy nodded.
"Good because the funding review for the prehistoric gem research is due", Spader glared at the Red Zeo Ranger, "don't make us cut your budget Mr Oliver". He straightened his jacket, "Contact Mr Grayson and tell him I'll be in Mariner Bay in two hours. It'll be his job to bring the Red Wild Force Ranger in", with that final comment, Spader left the room.
"That guy makes me uneasy", Jason sighed.
Tommy grasped him on the shoulder, "Think of the big picture bro", it took a few moments for Jason to nod in agreement, "now we'd better go and pack".
"Good luck explaining to Kat why you're leaving again", Jason chuckled.
"Don't, I haven't told her about the research project on Mercer Island yet, she's going to kill me", Tommy shook his head. He wasn't sure what scared him more, facing Serpenterra or a furious Australian ex-ranger.