In The Face Of Defeat
Chapter 8
Out with the old
11 Months later
Tommy walked into the control room of the Command Center, looking exhausted. It had been almost a year of non-stop work and he was tired, almost a year since contact was made with Corinth, almost a year since Shane had sacrificed himself to save them all. Now, things were changing. It was the end of an era. Shortly he would be making the announcement to the residents of the caves that construction of a new Operations Center had been completed using technology from Corinth. Shortly he would be destroying a part of Power Rangers history. True, they were backing up all the databases, and moving all the artifacts, but he was about to order the total destruction of the Command Center and the Power Chamber where he and the other rangers had first received their powers.
Sighing deeply, he took a look around, knowing that it would be his last, and walked over to the Communications console. Tommy paused for just a moment, thinking about how he had almost destroyed the command center years ago as the evil green ranger, and now, here he was, nearly a quarter century later, doing it not for evil, but for the greater good. He looked longingly at Zordon's empty energy tube, "So this is really it", he muttered to himself as he hit the 'talk' button. "Ladies and gentleman, this is Dr. Thomas Oliver. If I may have your attention for a moment, I have a very important announcement to make. Moments ago, we completed construction on a new Operations Center that will be replacing the existing Command Center. Over the next few days we will be evacuating everyone to the new residence quarters that have been built around the Operations Center. We have been in touch with Corinth, and they have shared some of their technology with us in an effort to ensure that we do not have a repeat of the tragedy that occurred nearly a year ago. In a few minutes, we will be activating the Invisiportals at the designated evacuation points, so please begin to gather your belongings and moving over to the new Residence halls. Take your time please, and be sure not to leave anything behind. Once the evacuation is complete we will be activating the self destruct system to ensure that Venjix cannot gain access to our technology. There will be no coming back. Thank you, and have a safe journey. "
"It was a long speech", Tommy thought, but saying goodbye to the command center was hard, and he felt it deserved no less for the protection it had thus far afforded them. The only thing that had made the situation bearable was that Zordon himself had hidden the facility that became their new base of operations. True they had greatly expanded it, but Zordon built the main facility. For what purpose, they still had yet to determine, but the fact that he had built it was a miracle all the same. At that moment, Anton walked in, and Tommy snapped out of his daze.
"Tommy, I know this has been a long year for you, and you're not looking forward to this, but it is for the greater good. Now, long range sensors have detected what appear to be several squads of grinders and multiple generation 7 attack bots headed directly for our location. The good news is that they are still roughly two days away , so we should be able to complete the evacuation before they breach our defences." Anton said.
Tommy nodded, as Anton activated the invisiportal network. "Ok, Anton. Let's get this over with. Activate the invisiportal network, and transfer the controls to the Operations center. I am going to go and try to get a few hours sleep. I'll relieve you in a few hours so that you can get some rest as well. I know you are just as tired as I am." He said.
Five hours later, Tommy awoke in his quarters beneath the old command center. He looked around and saw his wife and two oldest children grabbing the boxes containing the last of their belongings. He sighed, and thought to himself "I'm going to miss this place... it's been hell over the past few years, but this place has still been good to all of us. I almost wish it didn't have to end this way." He stood there, watching as his wife took the last box, the last of their life, and they left their quarters here for the last time. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, Tommy then walked up to the command center to relieve Anton, so that he and Elsa could finish packing, and get some rest before all hell broke loose.
As he walked into the command center, Tommy noticed that Anton looked slightly worried. Tommy walked up behind him, and placed his hand on Anton's shoulder and said "Anton, old friend, what seems to be bothering you?"
Anton jumped slightly, having been surprised by Tommy's arrival, before replying "I'm not sure. About 10 minutes ago I detected a large energy surge near the location of the Venjix forces. Since then I haven't been able to detect them, and the perimeter shields are showing a fairly significant energy drain. I estimate that we have roughly an hour before they fail completely. On the bright side, the evacuation is almost complete. It seems that our guests took your message to heart, and immediately began packing their things in preparation for the move. In fact, there are only a few families left. I am going to go help Elsa move our belongings, if you need anything, call me and I'll be here." At that, Anton turned and left the command center.
Tommy rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Nothing is ever as easy as it should be" he said to no one in particular. "Oh well, let the games begin" He sighed to himself as he was hitting the intercom button on the console in front of him. "This is Doctor Oliver. Our previous estimate of the time we had to complete evacuation was, unfortunately, far too optimistic. At this time we are fairly certain that Venjix forces are trying to breach the perimeter shield. We estimate less than an hour before the shield fails. If anyone needs additional assistance, some of the rangers will be returning to assist you. They will be stationed near the evacuation portals. Please hurry, but don't forget anything that you don't want to lose. Thank you." He said. With that, he hit the talk button on his wrist communicator. "Jason", he said, "We have a small problem. We are pretty sure that there are Venjix forces trying to breach our perimeter shields, and there are a few people still trying to evacuate. Can you gather some of the rangers together and help them expedite their departure. Oh, and have Billy use those new sensors of his to see if he can figure out exactly what we are looking at."
"Sure Tommy, we will be right there. Billy heard your message and he is already checking, I'll have him call you in a minute, I am going to go gather the rangers." Jason said.
"Tommy, this is Billy, the new sensors here are showing that a fairly sizeable attack force has gathered just outside of the shield. There appears to be a stealthbot with them, which is probably why your sensors aren't picking them up. Wait… Hold on a second… Tommy, the attack bots appear to be assembling a weapon. According to the Corinth database, this weapon has enough power to get through the command center shields easily. I estimate maybe thirty minutes before they are able to assemble and fire it."
Tommy sighed, "When it rains it pours", he said, "Thanks Billy, keep me posted. Tommy Out!"
Anton chose that moment to walk into the command center. "Elsa just left with the last of our things. How bad is it Tommy?"
"It's bad, we have half an hour at the most before our shields fall. To make matters worse, Billy was able to use the new sensors to scan the area, you were right. The entirety of the Venjix attack force that was detected heading toward us is currently parked outside the shield and the attack bots appear to be assembling a weapon capable of bringing down our shields."
With that, Tommy armed the self destruct, and set the timer for 15 minutes. "Ok Anton, get out of here. The auto Destruct is set for 15 minutes. I'm going to go help the guys with the evacuation."
"Ok Tommy, good luck! I will close down the inactive invisiportals so there is no chance of an attackbot sneaking through. Please hurry." Anton said. With that, they both left the command center for the last time. Anton headed through the nearest invisiportal and Tommy ran towards the nearest evacuation point.
Tommy found Jason ushering a line of people through one of the invisiportals, "Jason, we've got 15 minutes before the self destruct goes off. How is the evacuation going?"
Jason looked at Tommy before replying "It'll be close."
After a few minutes of rushing people through, they heard an explosion above them. "I'll say this, they're nothing if not persistent and thorough", Jason said as he began rushing people faster.
"We're out of time", Tommy said, "Get these people out now!" He ran to a locker and pulled out a few blue orbs, "I'll by you some time."
"Tommy, wait. That's suicide", Jason yelled as Tommy ran off completely ignoring what he had to say.
Tommy turned a corner as thirty grinders spilled into the corridor. Without thinking he tossed off one of the orbs before diving back behind the wall. There was a bright flash and several of the grinders fell to the ground. The others made their way through their fallen comrades as Tommy tossed the other two EMP grenades down at them. He was able to take a brief deep breath before another squadron of grinders made their way towards him.
"Shit", Tommy muttered as the thirty second reminder went off on his communicator. He ran back down the corridor as Jason was helping the last family through the portal. "Go, go, go", Tommy yelled as he ran full speed down the corridor. Just as Tommy made it to the portal, he felt an energy blast hit him in the back causing him to collapse to the ground. Jason ran to his fallen friend just as a group of grinders came up to him. Jason immediately delivered a tornado kick causing the lead grinders to fall. He grabbed Tommy and dove through the portal just as the timer hit zero.
Three days later, Tommy awoke in what was, at first, unfamiliar surroundings. As he was getting his bearings, he realized that he was in the medical bay of the Operations Center. Sitting up, he winced in pain. "Careful Tommy, you took an energy blast to your back. You've been unconscious for three days," Kat said from behind him. Tommy immediately made an attempt to get out of bed despite the pain. He looked around with an alarmed look on his face. "Relax! That's an order," Kat said, "Jason dragged you through the portal just as the auto destruct went off. Before you ask, he is just fine, and all of the Venjix forces in the area were destroyed when the power source in the command center went critical. You need to rest now. You will be fine, but the burn on your back will take a few more days to heal enough for me to let you out of here. Kim should be by shortly, I'll let her know that you're awake so that she can bring the children with her." With that, she turned and walked into her office to call Kim.
A/N: I know this is a slightly shorter chapter than normal, but we are wrapping up In the Face of Defeat. There is only one chapter left before we begin the next part of the Frozen Star series. Stay tuned for Power Rangers Frozen Star: Race to Destiny, and thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it! As always, please review.
Thanks,
NightWatcher666 & Shadowhunter81