Back in Corinth, Dr. K, or Sarah as she was slowly becoming used to being called, was sitting with Summer and Sam. They had invited Sam around, knowing that it had now been over a week since she had heard anything from Flynn. They knew that the guys were due to call in at some point soon, and were waiting for the call.
Summer couldn't help looking at Sam. She wasn't huge, but she was now noticeably growing, to the point that she had given up on her usual pants and shirt, in exchange for elasticated slacks and a slightly baggy t-shirt. She imagined herself being like that in a few months time. Sam had brought around a few pictures from her latest scan, letting them see them while they were waiting on the all.
"I can't believe how clear these are." Summer gushed, flipping through the pictures.
"They ought to be the way that doctor kept pressing on my stomach." Sam responded, sweeping some hair out of her face. "I thought for a moment he was trying to break through for a close up. After how much he made me drink, I was sure there was going to be an embarrassing accident."
"Did the doctor say he was happy with everything?" Dr. K asked her. Sam just nodded happily and held her stomach.
"The heartbeat's really strong." She told them. "It seems like he got his daddy's heart."
Just then, the communications screen burst into life, and Scott appeared on the screen. Flynn was next to him, squeezing into the shot as best he could in an attempt to see Sam.
"Sarah, we've just gotten a situation report on what's going over here." He told her. "How are the repairs to the Zords going?"
"Most of them are still off-line." She admitted, checking up her systems. "They were almost completely destroyed in the final battle. I do have a couple of them ready thought."
"What do we have?" Scott asked her, hoping that he could read his girlfriend as well as he thought he could.
"The Eagle Flyer is fully operational." She informed him. "The Road Attack Zord is about ninety eight per cent. The Lion Hauler should be ready by the morning."
"That's going to have to do. Thanks Sarah." He replied, smiling a little at the fact he was right. Her unconscious bias towards him had led to work on his Zord being completed first. The Road Attack Zord and the Lion Hauler would be a welcome bonus, but the plan he had formulated with Tommy and the others pretty much relied on it being ready. "Anyway, by the way Flynn keeps shoving; I'm guessing he's a little impatient, so I'll hand the communication over to him."
Sarah just shook her head and waved Sam over, realising that he was anxious to see her and speak to her. It wasn't deliberate, but communications could only be maintained for short periods of time over such distances. Scott had contacted Dr. K a couple of times, since they need to run over their situation report. Of course it also did seem a little unfair. Dillon had also contacted Summer once, so it seemed only fair that they let Flynn have a turn.
He shoved his way in so quickly in his enthusiasm; he accidentally shoved Scott against the wall. The Red Ranger let it go though; he could understand why he was distracted. Dr. K moved aside, letting Sam in front of the screen without the same hassle.
"You're looking even more beautiful than I remember pet." He greeted her warmly, reaching for the screen. He had only been gone a little over a week, but she had noticeably grown in that time. He longed to be able to reach through and touch her. "How are you?"
"I'm still experiencing the joys of pregnancy." She told him, stroking her stomach. "The baby seems to know something's not right. He hasn't settled down for more than a couple of hours since you left."
"He?" Flynn asked her. "Do you mean...?"
"I didn't find out the sex of the baby." Sam told him. "I know I should probably be more clinical, being in forensic science and all, but I just can't bring myself to call it 'the baby' or 'it' or..."
"I get the picture." He replied, chuckling a little to see her so excited. "So how did the scan go anyway?"
Sam put a DVD into the computer and hit a couple of buttons. Soon, the screen before Flynn split to show both Sam, and a recording of the sonogram. He smiled brightly as he saw his child on the screen. It was incredibly clear. He could see and hear the heart beating strongly.
"It's amazing!" He sighed gently, stroking his fingers across the screen. "I wish I'd been able to be there."
"I know you do." Sam whispered. "I wish you could be here too."
"I love you pet." He told her. "Stay healthy."
"You too." Sam replied. "I love you."
With that, they killed the link. Sam wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist as she turned back towards them.
"Bloody hormones, I was trying to be all stoic and strong." She said in a gentle laugh.
"I'm glad you had a chance to talk with him." Sarah replied, gesturing her over. She hugged her friend tightly, Summer doing likewise shortly afterwards. Summer parted from her a little way.
"Um...Sam, when did morning sickness begin for you?" She asked her.
"I think it was about..." With that, Summer clamped a hand over her face and ran from the room, heading into the bathroom so quickly; she didn't have time to worry about closing the door. They then heard a rather distinctive sound. Sam just laughed and made her way towards the bathroom.
"Welcome to the club." Sam said sympathetically, pulling back her hair.
"I really hate Dillon." She grumbled. Sam laughed again hearing this as Summer bent over the toilet, heaving again.
"Now you really are a part of the club." Sam told her. "It only gets better from here."
Over in Vegas, everyone was asleep, resting up in preparation of the assault on the Mandalay. Everyone was having a restful night, except for one. Scott came into the main war room, switching on the massive screen and accessing the files once more, going over his plan. He wished he had Sarah with him. With her expertise in programming, she could have run scenarios and numbers, giving him some idea of what the outcomes could be.
He had a phenomenal grasp of strategy between his time in the military, and his dad's constant stories and lessons when they were kids, he was an excellent strategist. He knew it was rare that she altered his strategies anyway, but it was always a comfort to him to have his ideas checked out before he put people's lives at risk. He heard a small cough behind him.
"Some things never change." Tommy stated, making his way over, taking a seat with him. "I used to get this way before the big battles."
"The Red guy always feels the sharp end huh?" Scott asked him. Tommy chuckled.
"Well there has been a few in my case." He responded. "So you're just checking your strategy?"
"My girlfriend's the real brains when it comes to stuff like that." Scott told him.
"I'm sure your strategy's fine." Tommy assured him. "You wouldn't have been able to defeat Venjix if you weren't up to this."
"It feels good to hear that coming from you." He answered quietly. "Your wife mentioned you've been doing this for a while."
"I was about 16 when I started." Tommy told him. "Four colours, five comebacks and more battles than I can count later, here we are."
"I can't imagine giving that much of myself to this." Scott commented. "I mean, I know I've loved my time as a Ranger, but to take that much out of your life..."
"It did take some things out of my life." Tommy informed him. "I lost at least two girlfriends, arguably three because of this. It took me longer to figure it out than most, but all you can really do is try to find a way to make it work. We all need a little normality."
He smiled a little, cracking open a soda and handing it to Scott, before opening one for himself.
"I can't say that it's always been easy, but in the end all of this led me to Kira." He told him. "My kids can be a pain in the ass at times, but I've loved every minute of it. I couldn't imagine changing a thing."
"That's always great to hear too." Scott assured him. "The world might be messed up, but you've got a pretty amazing life. I'm a little jealous."
"I'm sure you'll have your chance too." Tommy assured him as he put the display onto standby. "Now, how about we get a little rest?"
"That would be for the best." Scott told him as they went. "Anyway, I couldn't help noticing what happened with Emma earlier."
"It's not exactly a rare thing." Tommy assured him. "She's inherited my power, but she's inherited a lot more from her mother than she likes to admit. They've had some pretty good screaming matches in the past."
"Well given the way she started up with Dillon, I can believe that." Scott stated. "So how do you and Frank survive?"
"Three words duck and cover." Tommy laughed as they left. Just then, Emma started to shift back into view and approached the viewing screen. Switching it back on, she realised that just as she had thought, he had only put the screen on standby. He hadn't shut down the mainframe. Finding the battle strategy up on the system, she smiled, checking over it.
"Frank is so going to freak when he finds out I got this." She commented to herself, making a copy before shutting down the system and fading back into nothing.
Over in Corinth, Ziggy was enjoying his time with Alex and Tenaya, doting on his son to make up for their time apart. Alex in particular seemed to love seeing his daddy again after being away from him. He had only been gone a couple of days, but at this stage of his life, that was an incredibly long time to the little boy. Tenaya could see that Alex was trying hard to stay awake; his exhaustion close to overtaking him, but his excitement was keeping him going so far.
"Ziggy, it's getting late. We really should be getting him to bed." She told him regretfully. "You can see him again in the morning."
"I know. I'm sorry I kept him up so long." Ziggy told her. "I just really missed him."
"Why don't you tuck him in?" Tenaya asked him. Ziggy seemed delighted by the idea and made his way to their room to put him down for the night.
Tenaya went to the DVD collection to find something for them to watch. She looked through the collection when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, stroking them gently. She smiled as Ziggy kissed her cheek gently.
"You were right about Alex. He was out like a light as soon as he hit the mattress." Ziggy informed her. "He's really something isn't he?"
"He really is." She agreed.
"Seeing him like that really makes me think." He told her. "I can't believe things have worked out like this. I never thought I would have any of this."
"We have been pretty lucky." Tenaya agreed with a smile.
"I love you Mrs. Grover." He whispered. Tenaya smiled as he said this, and turned to face him.
"I'm not Mrs. Grover yet." She reminded him as she drew in closely, pressing her lips to his.
Over in Vegas, the base was still, with only a few guards doing patrols. Emma and Frank made their way into the hangar, avoiding the patrols as they had done so many times since they came here.
Emma used her power to look around without risking being seen. Once she satisfied herself, she and her brother sprinted to the nearest transport vehicle. Emma acted as lookout while Frank opened the door and got in. Entering behind him, she shut the door.
"Are you sure you can drive this thing?" Emma asked him.
"Please, it's hardly rocket science." Frank told his sister dismissively. "If anything it's easier to drive than dad's old car."
"Dad let you drive the car?" Emma asked him. Frank sucked his teeth.
"Define 'letting' me drive the car." Frank responded. "Does leaving the keys on the kitchen table count?"
"Just...get on with it." Emma told him. "Their attack schedule said they'll be assembling in the war room in a couple of hours. If we don't go before they're awake we'll miss all the good stuff."
Frank started up the engine, and activated the control to the door of the hangar, pulling out and heading for the gate.
One of the guards watched the vehicle leave, failing to stop as he tried to flag it, and immediately got on his communicator.
"Commander Oliver, someone just took one of the transport vehicles." The guard instructed him. "They left the compound."
"I didn't order any excursions." Tommy stated wearily as he got up from his bed, reaching for some clothes. Kira stirred and rubbed her eyes as he did so. "Did you see who it was?"
"The shields were down." The guard told him. "Do you want me to activate the tracking system?"
"No, if they've left the compound, doing that will only make it easier for Semtex to track them." Tommy told him. "Whoever it is, they have a better chance of coming back if we don't."
"What's going on?" Kira asked him. Tommy turned to his wife as he pulled on a pair of Khaki pants.
"Someone just took one of our transport vehicles." He informed her. "It's probably nothing, go back to sleep."
"It's only a couple of hours until the briefing anyway." Kira reminded him, getting out of bed with a long, low yawn as she reached to her chest of drawers for an outfit. "We're up anyway. Maybe we can spend this time constructively."
Just then, the intercom activated, and Adam's voice came across the system.
"Guys, you might want to bring the briefing forward." He suggested. Tommy pressed the button to talk.
"Why would we do that?" He asked him. Kira immediately pulled on an outfit quickly and rushed out of the room. Sure enough, she found Adam standing outside Emma and Frank's room.
"I was woken by the radio." Adam told her. "I did a quick sweep like I usually do when there's a security scare..."
Kira looked into the room, finding it empty. Tommy came over beside her and looked into the room in horror.
"Damn it!" Kira snapped. "I can't believe they've done this!"
"I'll call the others to the war room." Adam told them, running off. Tommy held his wife warmly.
"Kira, they'll be..."
"They'll be what? They'll be fine?" She asked him. "Tommy, you know how dangerous it is, even just a little beyond the fences. You and I both know exactly where they're heading."
"Kira, we've trained them both well." He assured her. "They're not going to do anything stupid."
"Like steal a transport vehicle and head out to the Mandalay?" She asked him. Tommy just sighed and shook his head as he realised she was right. They had been trained from an early age to accept their powers, and the impact it would have on their lives. They had prepared them for the eventuality that who their parents were would put them in danger. It was only natural that after all that they would want a part of that action for themselves. "I swear, if Venjix doesn't..."
"I know Kira." He whispered. "I'm worried about them too."
With that, they headed to the war room to assemble with the team. It was a couple of hours earlier than they had intended to go, leaving them little time to prepare, but he knew the others would understand them rushing into things. Their children were at stake.
Adam went into his room, finding Jonny sleeping soundly. A female officer was accompanying him.
"Keep an eye on him." He instructed her. "I hate leaving him like this, but it would only worry him. He's been through so much already."
"I'll take care of him sir." She told him. "You just go and take care of Semtex."
Meanwhile, over in the Mandalay, General Semtex was in his Command Centre, sharpening his blades on an angle grinder when another General came into the room.
"What is it Leviathan?" He asked in a dismissive growl. Leviathan was a blue-green metal monstrosity with armour which resembled scales. He had a prehensile tail which thrashed, seemingly with a life of its own, and a massive, jawed head, fashioned after the fabled sea serpent that was his namesake. Spines ran the length of his back, and razor sharp claws that could rend steel extended from his fingers.
"The scanners have picked up a small energy signature from the wastes." He informed his superior with a short bow. "It's just reached the edge of the city."
"Is the vehicle armed?" Semtex asked him.
"We don't know." He replied. "The signal is still weak. We'll know more once it gets closer."
"It's best not to risk it." Semtex mused. "Send some Grinders on a search and destroy mission. That vehicle is not to come within two miles of the building."
"As you wish!" Leviathan responded, bowing once more, before turning to leave. He stopped at a console.
"There is a vehicle in the north-western quadrant approaching the Command Centre." He stated with a sick smile. "General Semtex isn't interested in recycling. Wipe it off the face of the earth."